Measure brings WSI under government control

A once-tried initiative at the North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) is making a comeback at the Nov. 4 election in the form of Initiated Measure 4.

Measure 4 gives the governor the responsibility of appointing WSI's director, makes WSI employees part of the state personnel system and requires the appointment of independent administrative law judges to conduct hearings and make final decisions.

In other words, Measure 4 brings WSI under the state government's umbrella.

Proponents say the initiative provides accountability in the form of the governor, and opponents believe it threatens the stability of WSI by making a business-like agency into a government office.

Jeb Oehlke, North Dakota Chamber of Commerce vice president of government affairs, said WSI once operated under the same ideology as proposed in Measure 4. In 1997, the responsibility was vested to a board of directors, he said.

"Before it was changed, politics played a big part in the process and made the system run inefficiently and ineffectively," Oehlke said.

Oehlke said in 1994, WSI had a deficit of $240 million. Today, WSI has a surplus of $386 million.

"(WSI) is an insurance agency, and it needs to be run as a business, not as a political organization," Oehlke said.

Stephen Little, a member of the committee sponsoring Measure 4, argues the general public cannot hold the board of directors accountable for shortcomings within WSI because board members are not elected officials. Be believes the current system, therefore, is not working to the public's advantage.

"Frankly, what it does is provide accountability," said Little.

Little said Measure 4 holds the governor accountable for problems within WSI and complaints against WSI.

"This isn't about the governor. It's not about current governors, past governors, future governors; it's about keeping politics out of an insurance agency," added Oehlke.

Little is a lawyer who helped to draft the measure over the past year.

He said Gov. John Hoeven, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Democratic candidate for governor Tim Mathern are among those who support Measure 4.

Oehlke, however, believes the board of directors is working well within WSI. He said since the board of directors began overseeing WSI, the number of claims that are processed increased from 44 percent in 1995 to 55 percent in 2008.

When asked if the public can approach the board with their concerns, Little said, "They can, but again, frankly most people don't know who is on the board."

Regarding the placing of WSI employees into the state personnel system, Little said it provides job protection for employees who chose to make any discrepancy within the agency public.

"It does a couple of things, it provides job protection for employees of WSI, and it equalizes things between them and the rest of state employees," he added.

Lastly, Little said the section requiring the appointment of independent administrative law judges attempts to make agency proceedings fair. Little said WSI is currently appointing its own judges to conduct hearings and make final decisions, which "gives them sort of an unfair advantage."

"What this does is force them to use independent judges –the same way as every other state agency– and makes those judges decisions final," he said.

Oehlke, however, argues that Measure 4 was "poorly written." He said Measure 4 does not clarify what role the board of directors would play within the agency, and they would remain active. He said Measure 4 gives the governor control of hiring and firing WSI's director without taking those powers away from the board of directors.

"So you have two different entities that can do the same thing," Oehlke said.

"The board of directors hasn't been the problem," Oehlke added, as the problems relate directly to a former director, who was a capable businessman but a poor relationship builder with staff members.

"The North Dakota Chamber of Commerce opposes Measure 4 because the agency was run improperly when it was controlled as a political entity. We want it to remain controlled as an insurance agency –which is what it is– and leave politics out of it," said Oehlke.