281-A:55 Special Fund for Second Injuries. –
I. A special fund is hereby established in the state treasury for the purpose of making payments in accordance with RSA 281-A:15, III, RSA 281-A:54 and this section. The commissioner shall administer the fund. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund, and all moneys and securities in the fund shall be held in trust by the state treasurer and shall not constitute money or property of the state.
II. The state treasurer is authorized to disburse moneys from the fund only upon written order of the commissioner. The state treasurer shall be required to give bond in an amount to be fixed and with securities approved by the commissioner conditioned upon the faithful performance of the treasurer's duty as custodian of the fund. The premium of the bond shall be paid out of the fund.
III. Each insurance carrier and self-insurer shall, pursuant to rules adopted by the commissioner, make payments to the fund in an amount equal to that proportion of 115 percent of the total obligation of the fund during the preceding 12 months, less the amount of the net assets in the fund as of March 31 of the current year, which the total workers' compensation benefits, including medical benefits, paid by each insurance carrier and self-insurer bore to the total workers' compensation benefits, including medical benefits, paid by all insurance carriers and self-insurers in the preceding calendar year.
IV. The commissioner shall conserve the assets of the fund. In furtherance of this purpose, the attorney general shall appoint an employee of the department of justice to represent the fund in all proceedings brought to enforce claims against the fund.
V. An insurance carrier or self-insurer failing without sufficient cause to make payment under this section within the period specified by the commissioner shall be assessed a civil penalty of $100 for each day that the payment is overdue, which shall be deposited into the department of labor restricted fund established in RSA 273:1-b.
Source. 1988, 194:2. 1989, 294:5. 2005, 85:3, eff. June 7, 2005. 2011, 224:64, eff. July 1, 2011. 2021, 91:129, eff. July 1, 2021.