California Insider

Schwarzenegger has just signed the workers comp bill (Sb 899), and his statement at the press conference now gives him full ownership of this issue. By proclaiming his promise fulfilled, and by saying that workers comp will "no longer be the poison of our economy," he puts himself out on a limb. If these reforms reduce costs in the system, he will get much of the credit. If not, it will be up to him to explain why. His statement:

"Today I delivered on my promise to create real workers' compensation reform. This bill completes a process that brought together Republicans and Democrats, business and labor, and all the affected parties to produce billions of dollars in savings, protect workers, and root out fraud and waste in the system. No longer will workers' compensation be the poison of our economy. Our message to the rest of the country and the world, is that California is open for business. We are making our state once again a powerful, job-creating machine."