39-71-201. Administration fund. (1) A workers' compensation administration fund is established out of which all costs of administering the Workers' Compensation and Occupational Disease Acts and the statutory occupational safety acts the department is required to administer, with the exception of the subsequent injury fund, as provided for in 39-71-907, and the uninsured employers' fund, are to be paid upon lawful appropriation. The department shall collect and deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the workers' compensation administration fund:
     (a) all fees and penalties provided in 39-71-205, 39-71-223, 39-71-304, 39-71-307, 39-71-308, 39-71-315, 39-71-316, 39-71-401(6), 39-71-2204, 39-71-2205, and 39-71-2337; and
     (b) all fees paid by an assessment of 3% of paid losses, plus administrative fines and interest provided by this section.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, paid losses include the following benefits paid during the preceding calendar year for injuries covered by the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act of Montana without regard to the application of any deductible whether the employer or the insurer pays the losses:
     (a) total compensation benefits paid; and
     (b) except for medical benefits in excess of $200,000 for each occurrence that are exempt from assessment, total medical benefits paid for medical treatment rendered to an injured worker, including hospital treatment and prescription drugs.
     (3) Each plan No. 1 employer, plan No. 2 insurer subject to the provisions of this section, and plan No. 3, the state fund, shall file annually on March 1 in the form and containing the information required by the department a report of paid losses pursuant to subsection (2).
     (4) Each employer enrolled under compensation plan No. 1, compensation plan No. 2, or compensation plan No. 3, the state fund, shall pay a proportionate share of all costs of administering and regulating the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act of Montana and the statutory occupational safety acts that the department is required to administer, with the exception of the subsequent injury fund, as provided for in 39-71-907, and the uninsured employers' fund. In addition, compensation plan No. 3, the state fund, shall pay a proportionate share of these costs based upon paid losses for claims arising before July 1, 1990.
     (5) (a) Each employer enrolled under compensation plan No. 1 shall pay an assessment to fund administrative and regulatory costs. The assessment is equal to 3% of the paid losses paid in the preceding calendar year by or on behalf of the plan No. 1 employer or $500, whichever is greater. Any entity, other than the department, that assumes the obligations of an employer enrolled under compensation plan No. 1 is considered to be the employer for the purposes of this section.
     (b) An employer formerly enrolled under compensation plan No. 1 shall pay an assessment to fund administrative and regulatory costs. The assessment is equal to 3% of the paid losses paid in the preceding calendar year by or on behalf of the employer for claims arising out of the time when the employer was enrolled under compensation plan No. 1.
     (c) Payment of the assessment provided for by this subsection (5) must be paid by the employer in:
     (i) one installment due on July 1; or
     (ii) two equal installments due on July 1 and December 31 of each year.
     (d) If an employer fails to timely pay to the department the assessment under this section, the department may impose on the employer an administrative fine of $500 plus interest on the delinquent amount at the annual interest rate of 12%. Administrative fines and interest must be deposited in the workers' compensation administration fund.
     (6) (a) Compensation plan No. 3, the state fund, shall pay an assessment to fund administrative and regulatory costs attributable to claims arising before July 1, 1990. The assessment is equal to 3% of the paid losses paid in the preceding calendar year for claims arising before July 1, 1990. As required by 39-71-2352, the state fund may not pass along to insured employers the cost of the assessment for administrative and regulatory costs that is attributable to claims arising before July 1, 1990.
     (b) Payment of the assessment must be paid in:
     (i) one installment due on July 1; or
     (ii) two equal installments due on July 1 and December 31 of each year.
     (c) If the state fund fails to timely pay to the department the assessment under this section, the department may impose on the state fund an administrative fine of $500 plus interest on the delinquent amount at the annual interest rate of 12%. Administrative fines and interest must be deposited in the workers' compensation administration fund.
     (7) (a) Each employer insured under compensation plan No. 2 or plan No. 3, the state fund, shall pay a premium surcharge to fund administrative and regulatory costs. The premium surcharge must be collected by each plan No. 2 insurer and by plan No. 3, the state fund, from each employer that it insures. The premium surcharge must be stated as a separate cost on an insured employer's policy or on a separate document submitted to the insured employer and must be identified as "workers' compensation regulatory assessment surcharge". The premium surcharge must be excluded from the definition of premiums for all purposes, including computation of insurance producers' commissions or premium taxes. However, an insurer may cancel a workers' compensation policy for nonpayment of the premium surcharge. When collected, assessments may not constitute an element of loss for the purpose of establishing rates for workers' compensation insurance but, for the purpose of collection, must be treated as a separate cost imposed upon insured employers.
     (b) The amount to be funded by the premium surcharge is equal to 3% of the paid losses paid in the preceding calendar year by or on behalf of all plan No. 2 insurers and 3% of paid losses for claims arising on or after July 1, 1990, for plan No. 3, the state fund, plus or minus any adjustments as provided by subsection (7)(f). The amount to be funded must be divided by the total premium paid by all employers enrolled under compensation plan No. 2 or plan No. 3 during the preceding calendar year. A single premium surcharge rate, applicable to all employers enrolled in compensation plan No. 2 or plan No. 3, must be calculated annually by the department by not later than April 30. The resulting rate, expressed as a percentage, is levied against the premium paid by each employer enrolled under compensation plan No. 2 or plan No. 3 in the next fiscal year.
     (c) On or before April 30, 2001, and on each succeeding April 30, the department, in consultation with the advisory organization designated pursuant to 33-16-1023, shall notify plan No. 2 insurers and plan No. 3, the state fund, of the premium surcharge percentage to be effective for policies written or renewed annually on and after July 1 of that year.
     (d) The premium surcharge must be paid whenever the employer pays a premium to the insurer. Each insurer shall collect the premium surcharge levied against every employer that it insures. Each insurer shall pay to the department all money collected as a premium surcharge within 20 days of the end of the calendar quarter in which the money was collected. If an insurer fails to timely pay to the department the premium surcharge collected under this section, the department may impose on the insurer an administrative fine of $500 plus interest on the delinquent amount at the annual interest rate of 12%. Administrative fines and interest must be deposited in the workers' compensation administration fund.
     (e) If an employer fails to remit to an insurer the total amount due for the premium and premium surcharge, the amount received by the insurer must be applied to the premium surcharge first and the remaining amount applied to the premium due.
     (f) The amount actually collected as a premium surcharge in a given year must be compared to the 3% of paid losses paid in the preceding year. Any amount collected in excess of the 3% must be deducted from the amount to be collected as a premium surcharge in the following year. The amount collected that is less than the 3% must be added to the amount to be collected as a premium surcharge in the following year.
     (8) On or before April 30, 2001, and on each succeeding April 30, upon a determination by the department, an insurer under compensation plan No. 2 that pays benefits in the preceding calendar year but that will not collect any premium for coverage in the following fiscal year shall pay an assessment equal to 3% of paid losses paid in the preceding calendar year, subject to a minimum assessment of $500, that is due on July 1.
     (9) An employer that makes a first-time application for permission to enroll under compensation plan No. 1 shall pay an assessment of $500 within 15 days of being granted permission by the department to enroll under compensation plan No. 1.
     (10) The department shall deposit all funds received pursuant to this section in the state treasury, as provided in this section.
     (11) The administration fund must be debited with expenses incurred by the department in the general administration of the provisions of this chapter, including the salaries of its members, officers, and employees and the travel expenses of the members, officers, and employees, as provided for in 2-18-501 through 2-18-503, incurred while on the business of the department either within or without the state.
     (12) Disbursements from the administration money must be made after being approved by the department upon claim for disbursement.
     (13) The department may assess and collect the workers' compensation regulatory assessment surcharge from uninsured employers, as defined in 39-71-501, that fail to properly comply with the coverage requirements of the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act of Montana. Any amounts collected by the department pursuant to this subsection must be deposited in the workers' compensation administration fund.

     History: En. 92-116.1 by Sec. 1, Ch. 253, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 318, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 28, Ch. 453, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 92-116.1; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 104, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 28, Ch. 557, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 613, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 558, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 555, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 514, L. 1995; amd. Secs. 1, 2, Ch. 385, L. 1997; amd. Secs. 3, 4, Ch. 377, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 51, Ch. 7, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 214, L. 2001.