Bulletin No. 66-05
October 13, 2005

DWC issues notice of proposed rulemaking and submits pre-designation of personal physician regulations to the Office of Administrative Law

DWC's pre-designation of personal physician regulations were filed with the state Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on Oct. 12, 2005 for approval and publication in the California Notice Register. The DWC has filed the regulations with OAL using the permanent, non-emergency rulemaking procedures. A public hearing on the regulations has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, in Oakland. The notice of proposed rulemaking, initial statement of reasons and proposed regulations have been posted on the DWC Web site at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCPropRegs/predesignation_Regulations/Predesignation_regulations.htm.

On Sep. 22, 2005, the DWC submitted these proposed regulations to OAL using the emergency rulemaking process. The DWC submitted the regulations using the emergency process because clear guidance on how to satisfy new legal requirements for pre-designating a personal physician is vital for injured workers and employers.

On Oct. 3, OAL notified the DWC that it would disapprove the emergency regulatory action because OAL concluded the proposed regulation is not necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety or general welfare.

The division determined that, because of the amount of time required to appeal OAL’s decision, the most expeditious course of action would be to file the regulations using the regular rulemaking process. In this way, the division loses as little time as possible in implementing these important regulations for injured workers and employers.

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