GOV. DAVIS SIGNS WORKERS' COMP BILL.

Gov. Gray Davis tried to energize Californians to vote against recalling him Oct. 7 by signing a raft of bills, including workers' compensation reform. He said he would let voters know before the election if he would sign a bill requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance or pay into a state pool.

The workers' compensation legislation came in a package of bills - SB 228, SB 1007, AB 227, AB 1099, AB 1267, AB 1557. Among other things, they will:

* Establish a pharmaceutical fee schedule.

* Limit chiropractic and physical therapy visits to 24 per claim.

* Repeal the mandate for vocational rehabilitation.

* Create a fee schedule for outpatient surgery centers.

* Adopt new medical utilization guidelines.

* Revoke the presumption that the treating physician's decisions are correct.

* Authorize the California Insurance Guaranty Association to issue bonds to assure that claims are paid.

Supporters of the legislation claim it will result in an annual cost reduction of $6 billion, and said without the reforms employers would have face double-digit increases in premiums.

But Sam Sorich, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies, warned that it will take time for the savings to be achieved and more reforms need to be passed specifically addressing permanent partial disability benefits, legal costs and administrative costs.

Another bill Davis signed affects the "persistency" discount auto insurers are allowed to policyholders based on their loyalty and "persistency" of coverage. SB 841 adds "portability" to the discount, meaning other insurers may match the discount.

The ACIC lobbied in favor of the bill on grounds it enhances competition, allowing consumers to shop for the best price and product to suit their needs.

The Democratic governor signed a number of other bills passed by the liberal Democratic majority in the Legislature while the recall was pending. Political observers in the state said Democrats pushed them through while they still had a relatively friendly governor, and the previously cautious governor signed them to shore up his support on the left.

One bill, for example, grants illegal immigrants the right to get drivers' licenses, seen as helping him with Hispanic voters. Another expands the rights of homosexual domestic partners, and a third could attract environmentalist voters because it opens high-occupancy vehicle lanes on freeways to hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles.