Compsource Mut. Ins. Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
Compsource Mut. Ins. Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
Opinion of the Court
*94¶1 Protestants requested statutory rebates from assessments paid to the Tax Commission. Tax Commission denied the requests arguing the statutory authority for the rebate, 68 O.S.2011 § 6101, had been repealed by implication when 85A O.S.Supp. 2014 § 31 was amended in 2015. We conclude the 2015 amendment to 85A O.S. § 31 did not repeal 68 O.S.2011 § 6101 by implication. We also conclude no substantive due process violation is shown on the appellate records. We deny protestants' requests for payment of interest on their rebates.
¶2 The CompSource Mutual Insurance Company filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission a request for a Multiple Injury Trust Fund rebate. The request was filed on May 25, 2016, and sought a rebate in the amount of $10,777,247.00 based upon the Multiple Injury Trust Fund assessment CompSource paid in 2015.
¶3 In March 2016, the Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission a request for a Multiple Injury Trust Fund rebate based upon the Multiple Injury Trust Fund assessment it paid in 2015. This rebate request was for the amount of $136,754.82.
¶4 An administrative law judge for the Oklahoma Tax Commission granted an unopposed motion to consolidate the protests of CompSource and the Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund, and they were adjudicated together, but adjudicated separately when reviewed by the Commissioners who issued separate orders for each protest. The administrative law judge concluded the rebates should be paid to the protestants. The Tax Commission, with two Commissioners voting, denied both protests and directed the administrative law judge to issue findings, conclusions and recommendations consistent with the denial.
¶5 Protestants brought appeals from both orders of the Tax Commission.
*95¶6 The Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers and CompSource Mutual Insurance Company filed separate motions for an oral argument before the Court. A motion for oral argument must set forth "the exceptional reason that oral argument is necessary."
Statutes Raised by the Parties
¶7 The legal issue presented by these cases is whether certain parties are entitled to a rebate of funds previously paid to the Tax Commission. The controversy involves statutory construction and the intent of the Legislature concerning the rebate. Protestants state they are entitled to a refund pursuant to 68 O.S. §§ 6101 - 6102, and the Tax Commission argues these statutes have been repealed citing an Executive Order issued by the Governor. A short history of the relevant statutes provides a context for the present controversy.
¶8 The Multiple Injury Trust Fund, previously known as the Special Indemnity Fund, was established to compensate an injured worker for his or her statutorily recognized work-related injury after having had a previous worker's compensation injury. Workers' compensation insurance carriers, CompSource, employers self-insured for workers' compensation, and other entities fulfilling the same role have been statutorily required to pay annual assessments to the Multiple Injury Trust Fund.
¶9 In 2001, 85 O.S. § 173 required annual assessments made upon each mutual or interinsurance association, stock company, CompSource Oklahoma, an insurance carrier writing workers' compensation insurance, and from employers carrying their own risk including group self-insurance associations.
*96¶10 In 2002, the Legislature passed House Bill No. 2752 which (1) amended § 173 and specified one-third of the assessment could be charged to policy holders and two-thirds could not be so charged, (2) repealed the income tax credit for the assessment,
¶11 In 2011, 85 O.S.Supp. 2005 § 173 was repealed by Laws 2011, c. 318, § 87.
¶12 Section 403 had a minor amendment in 2012,
¶13 The new Administrative Workers' Compensation Act created 85A O.S.Supp.2013 § 31, enacted language similar to the previous 85 O.S. § 403, and again expressly included "CompSource Oklahoma"
¶14 In 2015, the Legislature amended 85A O.S.Supp.2014 § 31. The amendment removed the language in § 31 (A)(3) which had created the one-third and two-thirds split in the assessment, removed the prohibition of collecting two-thirds of the assessment from policyholders, and also removed the allocations to the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Labor granted by the previous version of § 31(I).
¶15 Title 68 O.S. § 6101 states a party required to pay an assessment pursuant to 85 O.S. § 173 is entitled to receive a rebate equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the amount of the assessment actually paid , subject to application to and approval by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
¶16 Governor Fallin issued an Executive Order upon conclusion of the Legislature's Session in 2015, a portion of which states the following.
Today with the signing of House Bill 2238, the intent of the Legislature is *98made clear as to the rebate provisions contained within 68 O.S. § 6101. Based on increased funding included in the budget, language in section 3 of the bill which removes billing restrictions, and discussions of legislative intent during budget negotiations with this office, recognize and concur with the Legislature that the Oklahoma Tax Commission should no longer process the rebate of the Multiple Injury Trust Fund assessments pursuant to 68 O.S. § 6101. It appears that previous legislative intent may well have been for the rebate to have been paid between 2011 and this date. However, that is no longer the case.
Executive Order 2015-28 (June 1, 2015).
The Tax Commission argues the rebate provisions in sections 6101 & 6102 were impliedly repealed by 2015 Okla. Sess. Laws Ch. 344 (H.B. 2238), and this implied repeal was recognized by the Governor in her Executive Order.
General Reference and Specific Reference Statutes
¶17 The Tax Commission argues no rebate is allowed for 2015 because: The statute authorizing a rebate, § 6101, states "All parties required to pay an assessment pursuant to Section 173 of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes" are entitled to a rebate, § 173 was repealed in 2011, and assessments paid in 2015 were not an assessment required by § 173 necessary for a § 6101 rebate in 2015. The Protestants argue § 6101 has not been repealed and they are entitled to a rebate equal to two-thirds of their paid assessments.
¶18 In summary, the issues presented by the parties' arguments are: (1) Whether § 173 was incorporated into § 6101 regardless of subsequent amendments to § 173 or if that section referenced in § 6101 was one to general law concerning insurers' rebates and billing practices with the effect that subsequent legislative amendments may alter the application of § 173 (and 85 O.S.2011 § 403 and 85 O.S.Supp. 2013 § 31) to § 6101 ; and (2) Whether the amendment to section 31 may repeal section 6101 by implication.
¶19 We start with this analysis because: (1) The parties' include an argument based on the nature or type of reference to
¶ 20 When a statute refers to another for the purpose of the powers given by the former, the statute referred to is considered as incorporated in the one making the reference.
¶21 Generally, if a reference statute adopts or incorporates another statute or a portion thereof, then the adoption takes the statute existing at the time of the adoption and does not include subsequent amendments or modifications unless express legislative intent or a strong implication exists which indicates otherwise.
¶22 For example, in 1990 the Supreme Court of New Jersey relied upon the same 1977 opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit as the Tenth Circuit in 2016 for the observation that courts have had a common practice of construing a specific statutory reference in context as referencing general law when "the surface specificity of the incorporating language dissolved upon close judicial scrutiny."
¶23 The interpretation of these statutes as requested by the parties presents a question of law and on appeal we exercise a nondeferential de novo standard of review for the purpose of determining and applying legislative *100intent.
¶24 Section 6101 states: "All parties required to pay an assessment pursuant to Section 173 of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be entitled to receive a rebate equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the amount of the assessment actually paid, subject to application to and approval of the same by the Oklahoma Tax Commission." The test for ambiguity in a statute is whether the language is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation.
¶25 The language in section 6101 states two conditions must exist to receive a rebate. The first condition is whether a party paid an assessment pursuant to the procedure and requirements of § 173, and the second is the approval of the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Section 6101 refers to the entity entitled to receive a rebate in terms of that entity having previously paid an assessment. The reference to § 173 in § 6101 may be characterized as containing a procedural component to a condition for a rebate by its language indicating when rebates are authorized, and as a reference to a procedure such demonstrates a general reference as opposed to a specific reference by incorporation.
¶26 One reason for this conclusion is that if a reference statute pertains only to a method of procedure and refers generally to some statute which defines how certain things may be done, then the ordinary construction is that such reference statute will be expanded, modified, or changed every time the statute referred to is changed by the Legislature.
¶27 One question necessarily implied by the arguments of the parties on this issue
¶28 Generally, statutes on the same subject matter are viewed in pari materia and construed together as a harmonious whole giving effect to each provision, and we have applied this concept when construing tax statutes as well as construing workers' compensation statutes when we have looked to the various provisions of the relevant legislative scheme to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent.
¶29 The 2005 version of § 173 was repealed in 2011 and the newly enacted Workers' Compensation Code created 85 O.S.2011 § 403 which was identical to repealed § 173 for our purposes today. Generally, repeal of a statute combined with its new codification by renumbering with no substantive change will result in no change in judicial construction of the statute; i.e. , repeal followed by mere renumbering and recodification is not usually construed as altering the meaning of a statute.
¶30 The Oklahoma Tax Commission continued providing the rebates after the repeal of section 173 in 2011. The language in 85 O.S.2011 § 403 was identical to former section 173 for the purpose of insurance carrier assessments with two-thirds of that assessment not chargeable to policyholders, and that same two-thirds of the assessment being the amount authorized for a rebate in 68 O.S.2011 § 6101.
¶31 A court's construction of ambiguous statutory language will give great weight to the construction or meaning used by officials charged with execution of the statute.
Repeal By Implication
¶32 Our conclusion that section 6101 contains a general reference to the procedure for workers' compensation carrier assessments does not answer an issue briefed by the parties. Does the amendment to 85A O.S. § 31 in 2015 create an implied repeal of 68 O.S. §§ 6101 and 6102 ? The Tax Commission by its briefs and the Governor by her Executive Order indicate section 6101 was repealed by the 2015 amendment to section 31.
¶33 In 2015 when 85A O.S. § 31 was amended by House Bill No. 2238, the following language was removed from section 31 .
Only one-third (1/3) of assessments against insurance carriers and CompSource Oklahoma may be charged to policyholders and shall not be considered in determining whether any rate is excessive. The remaining two-thirds (2/3) of assessments against insurance carriers and CompSource Oklahoma may not be included in any rate, premium, charge, fee, assessment or other amount to be collected from a policyholder. Insurance carriers and CompSource Oklahoma shall not separately state the amount of the assessment on any invoice or billing assessment.
2015 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 344, § 3 (H.B. No. 2238).
Section 6101 of Title 68 also referred to this one-third and two-thirds split and was not expressly repealed by H.B. No. 2238. Section 6101 states in part as follows.
A. All parties required to pay an assessment pursuant to Section 173 of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be entitled to receive a rebate equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the amount of the assessment actually paid, subject to application to and approval of the same by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This rebate shall only apply to assessments due after January 15, 2002. This rebate shall not be considered in determining tax liability of an insurer pursuant to Section 629 of Title 36 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
68 O.S.2011 § 6101(A).
The amount of the rebate in section 6101 is two-thirds of the workers' compensation carrier's assessment pursuant to section 31. Prior to 2015, this rebate of "two-thirds (2/3) of the amount of the assessment" in section 6101 is equal to two-thirds of the assessment specified in former sections 85 O.S. §§ 173 and 403, and 85A O.S. § 31. Pursuant to § 31 this two-thirds amount could not be included in any rate, premium, charge, fee, assessment or other amount to be collected from a policyholder. Further, section 6101 referenced 36 O.S.2001 § 629 and prohibited this same two-thirds amount from being considered when *103determining the premium tax required of section 629.
¶34 The general rule is that (1) repeals by implication are never favored, (2) it is not presumed that the legislature in the enactment of a subsequent statute intended to repeal an earlier one, unless it has done so in express terms, and (3) all provisions must be given effect unless irreconcilable conflicts exist.
¶35 We must also consider the relevant statutory language, sections 31, 6101, and 629 in context after the amendment to section 31 to construe present legislative intent because one Legislature cannot bind a subsequent Legislature.
¶36 Previous to 2002 the paid assessments were subject to an income tax credit for a workers' compensation insurance carrier. In 2002, section 6101 was initially created in House Bill No. 2752 with the two-thirds split in 85 O.S. § 173 (later 85A O.S. § 31 ), and these two statutes worked together and with 36 O.S. § 629 so that the premium tax would not include the two-thirds recovered in the rebate and this amount would not be collected from a policyholder in the form of a premium or other policyholder fee, charge or assessment.
¶37 The 2015 amendment to 85A O.S. § 31 removed language which had prohibited a workers' compensation insurance carrier from collecting two-thirds of the assessment from its policyholders. Protestants' view of the statutes after the 2015 amendment is essentially: (1) The insurance carrier assessment is paid by the insurer pursuant to the amended version of section 31 ; (2) The amended version of section 31 contains no restriction on billing or collecting from a policyholder the amount of the assessment;
*104(3) Section 6101 was not expressly repealed and continued to authorize a rebate in the amount of two-thirds of the insurer's assessment; and (4) Two-thirds of the assessment is not subject to a section 629 premium tax if the assessment amount was previously collected from its policyholder as a premium. CompSource Mutual Insurance Company also argues, in reply to the Tax Commission, that the nature of its organization as a mutual company means it has no "policyholders," it cannot receive a "windfall" as a result of obtaining a section 6101 rebate, and that the Court should not attempt to determine when or if insurance rates are excessive in light of the change in billing practices as a result of the 2015 amendment.
¶38 We conclude the workers' compensation insurer assessments remained the same after the 2015 amendment except for the former billing restrictions which were removed by the amendment. House Bill No. 2752, which in 2002 created the two-thirds assessment split in 85 O.S. § 173 and the two-thirds rebate in 68 O.S. § 6101, also expressly repealed the former tax credit in 68 O.S. § 2357.44.
¶39 There must be conflicting language, public policy, or legislative intent in the statutes at issue in order to support the Tax Commission's conclusion that § 6101 has been repealed by implication. We conclude no conflict is present, and § 6101 was not repealed by implication.
Governor's Executive Order
¶40 The Governor's Executive Order, 2015-28, states the intent of the Legislature in removing the billing restrictions was to repeal § 6101, and this conclusion is supported by her understanding of statements made during budget negotiations. The Governor may certainly speak on her intent concerning legislation with which she is involved. But the Legislature communicates its intent as a body, and testimony of individuals involved in the legislative process of creating a statute is not competent on the intent of the Legislature as a whole.
¶41 Officials' expressions of legislative intent when they participate in the law-making process may be especially well informed concerning legislative intent, and upon judicial review of their administrative construction a court may give deference to that construction. This deference springs from a previous official construction where the Legislature has acquiesced in the administrative action, and we have often noted that the administrative construction was not transitory but long-standing.
*105¶42 It is not the Governor's expression of legislative intent in her executive order which raises the issue of deference on the issue of legislative intent, but an apparent legislative acquiescence to the executive order and Tax Commission interpretation by the passing of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 legislative sessions without any legislation in the form a clarifying amendment to § 6101. However, we find significant that the executive order and Tax Commission construction of § 6101 has occurred continuously and simultaneously with public administrative and judicial challenges to the Tax Commission's construction of § 6101. We cannot determine whether the collective will of the Legislature has acquiesced in the last three years to the ongoing administrative construction of § 6101 or to the ongoing public judicial challenges and ultimate resolution of the controversy in this Court.
¶43 Protestants object to the Governor issuing the executive order. The power exercised by the Governor, by executive order or otherwise, may be limited or granted by statute.
¶44 The Governor's Executive Order refers to no constitutional or statutory power possessed by the Governor for directing the Tax Commission to stop processing the § 6101 rebates, but no such express requirement for executive orders is created in the Oklahoma Constitution. The Constitution does provide as follows.
The Governor shall cause the laws of the State to be faithfully executed, and shall conduct in person or in such manner as may be prescribed by law, all intercourse and business of the State with other states and with the United States, and he [or she] shall be a conservator of the peace throughout the State.
Okla. Const. Art. 6 § 8 (explanatory phrase added).
The Governor has the power to issue executive orders to executive officials directing them to faithfully execute the law, subject of course to other provisions of our Constitution such as the due process clause.62 She possessed the power to issue an executive order, but the content of that order stating § 6101 had been repealed was simply an incorrect legal conclusion.
¶ 45 Protestants argue they have been denied "due process" because they have "a vested right to a tax refund" which they have not received at this time. No distinction is made in the briefs between procedural and substantive due process, or between pre-deprivation and post-deprivation remedies and *106their adequacy for the right allegedly infringed. Several years ago we relied on an opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court and explained due process requires a "clear and certain" remedy for taxes collected in violation of federal law, and a State has the flexibility to provide that remedy before the disputed taxes are paid (pre-deprivation), after they are paid (post-deprivation), or both.
¶46 The Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund states "it has complied with the statutory prerequisites set forth in 68 O.S. § 6101" and argues it has a vested right to the rebate. Its brief does not set forth all of the statutory requirements to which it refers or the locations in the appellate record showing where those requirements are satisfied. For example, section 6101 states the rebate is "subject to application to and approval of the same by the Oklahoma Tax Commission." The brief does not explain how this condition either was fulfilled or should be deemed to be fulfilled by the actions of the protestants and the actions of the Tax Commission for the purpose of showing fulfillment of required statutory conditions. We note 68 O.S. § 6102 states "The liability of the State of Oklahoma to make the rebate payments under Section 2 ( § 6101 ) of this act shall be limited to the balance contained in the fund created by this section." The parties do not brief and point to the records on appeal for the purpose of showing money was in the "Workers' Compensation Assessment Rebate Fund," when they sought their assessment rebates. Generally, a legal interest will not vest when a condition precedent for vesting has not occurred.
¶47 The CompSource Mutual Insurance Company states the Tax Commission's refusal to pay the rebate "violates due process as an unconstitutional taking ... that cannot be extinguished without just compensation."
¶48 We also note the protestants were denied their requests for rebates and filed protests before the Tax Commission which eventually resulted in the present appeals before this Court, and we have directed herein the Tax Commission orders be reversed and the proceedings remanded for the Tax Commission to process their requests for rebates.
Interest
¶49 The protestants ask the Court to award interest pursuant to
¶50 The legislature has specified that the insurance carrier rebates come from income tax collections and not the monies collected from the insurance carrier assessments, and the statute authorizing the rebates does not authorize interest. Before its repeal, 85 O.S. § 173 provided for Multiple Injury Trust Fund refunds to be paid from the Multiple Injury Trust Fund, and the general refund provisions of 68 O.S. sections 227 - 229 applied.
*10885 O.S.Supp.2005 § 173 (H). Section 403 continued this language in 2011.
¶51 The Court applies the specific tax statute authorizing interest which is applicable to the specific controversy.
¶52 The language in 68 O.S. § 225 provides a general procedure concerning payments for refunds and interest from the collecting fund of the same tax type and conflicts with the language in 68 O.S. § 6102 which is more specific and states an assessment rebate is paid from the fund used for income tax collections. A specific statute controls a more general statute on the same subject.
Conclusion
¶53 We conclude the 2015 amendment to 85A O.S. § 31 did not repeal 68 O.S.2011 § 6101 by implication. The rebates authorized by the Legislature in section 6101 have not been expressly repealed by the Legislature. No substantive due process violation is shown in the appellate records for these two appeals. The protestants' requests for payment of interest on their rebates are denied.
¶54 The two orders of the Tax Commission are reversed and the proceedings are remanded to the Tax Commission for the appropriate processing of section 6101 rebates for protestants.
¶55 COMBS, C.J.; KAUGER, WINCHESTER, EDMONDSON, COLBERT, REIF, and DARBY, JJ., concur.
¶56 GURICH, V.C.J. (by separate writing); and WYRICK, J., dissent.
GURICH, V.C.J., with whom WYRICK, J., joins dissenting:
*109¶1 I must respectfully dissent from this Court's decision to award rebates in the above-captioned matters. The plain and unambiguous language of
¶2 Moreover, the Legislature created the MITF assessment and rebate scheme in 2002, codifying 68 O.S. § 6101(A) and 85 O.S. § 173(A)(2) together in H.B. No. 2753. See 2002 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 31, §§ 2-4, pp. 191-192. As originally enacted, the Tax Code authorized a rebate equal to two-thirds (2/3) of MITF assessments paid under 85 O.S.Supp. 2002 § 173 to the MITF. To prevent Oklahoma insurance carriers from passing on one-hundred percent (100%) of the MITF assessment to policyholders and claiming the rebate, Section 173 limited the sums which could be shouldered by policyholders:
Only one-third (1/3) of assessments against insurance carriers and CompSource Oklahoma may be charged to policyholders and shall not be considered in determining whether any rate is excessive. The remaining two-thirds (2/3) of assessments against insurance carriers and CompSource Oklahoma may not be included in any rate, premium, charge, fee, assessment or other amount to be collected from a policyholder.
¶3 In 2015, when the Legislature removed the limit on amounts insurance carriers and CompSource could pass on to its policyholders, the justification for providing a rebate was likewise removed. A reading of the statute as interpreted by the majority would allow insurers to pass 100% of assessment costs to policyholders, while still allowing a rebate of two-thirds (2/3) of monies paid to the MITF. Such a handout and absurd result is surely not the outcome intended by our Legislature.
CompSource Mutual Insurance Company v. State of Oklahoma, ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Commission , Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 116,337: CompSource Mutual Insurance Company appealed Tax Commission Order No. 2017-08-01-13, August 1, 2017, issued in Tax Commission Cause No. P-16-159-H.
Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund v. State of Oklahoma, ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Commission , Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 116,341: Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund appealed Tax Commission Order No. 2017-08-01-11, August 1, 2017, issued in Tax Commission Cause No. P-16-092-H.
12 O.S.2011 Ch. 15, App. 1, Okla. Sup. Ct. R. 1.9.
Young v. Station 27, Inc. ,
68 O.S.2011 § 6102 states that rebate assessments shall be paid from the Workers' Compensation Assessment Rebate Fund, and § 6102 also states this Fund shall be funded by taxes levied and collected pursuant to 68 O.S. § 2355, an income tax statute. See § 6102 at note 23 infra .
85 O.S.2001 § 173 (A)(1) ("each mutual or interinsurance association, stock company, CompSource Oklahoma, or other insurance carrier writing workers' compensation insurance in this state shall be assessed and pay to the Oklahoma Tax Commission a sum equal to two per cent (2%) of the total gross direct premiums written for workers' compensation on risks located in this state ... [and] the Oklahoma Tax Commission shall assess and collect from employers carrying their own risk including group self-insurance associations, a temporary assessment at the rate of four percent (4%) of the total compensation for permanent total disability awards, permanent partial disability awards and death benefits paid out....").
85 O.S.2011 § 173(B)(2), (D).
85 O.S.2001 § 173 (H).
2002 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 31 § 5 (H.B. No. 2752).
2002 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 31, § 2, creating 68 O.S. § 6101, and § 3 of Ch. 31 creating 68 O.S. § 6102.
85 O.S.Supp.2010 § 173 (A)(2).
2011 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 318, § 87 (S.B. No. 878).
Hogg v. Oklahoma County Juvenile Bureau ,
Section 173(A)(3)(b) of 85 O.S. Supp. 2010 contained a reference to 68 O.S. § 6101 for the 2002 assessment and
The 2011 version of § 403 had been amended in 2012 to replace the language "Department of Central Services" with "Office of Management and Enterprise Services." 2012 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 304, § 1082.
85 O.S.Supp.2013 § 403. See 2013 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 254, § 1 (stating title of the Act) § 47 (amending § 403 ) (H.B. 2201).
2013 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 208, § 1 (specifying provisions of the Act to be known as the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act), § 171 (repealer provision), § 172 (creating effective date).
The amendment also provided that "if CompSource begins operating as a mutual insurance company" then the Board of Directors of CompSource Mutual Insurance Company shall have the power to disapprove the rate established by the MITF Director until the Multiple Injury Trust Fund repays in full the amount due on any loan from CompSource Mutual Insurance Company or its predecessor CompSource Oklahoma. 85A O.S.Supp.2013 § 31(A)(1) (effective February 1, 2014).
85A O.S.Supp.2013 § 31 ( 2013 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 208, § 31 ) (S.B. No. 1062) (effective Feb. 1, 2014).
85A O.S.Supp.2013 § 31 (A)(3) (effective February 1, 2014).
85A O.S.Supp.2015 § 31 (2015 Okla. Sess. Laws, Ch. 344, § 3) (In 2015, H.B. No. 2238 amended 85A O.S.Supp.2014 § 31 which was identical to § 31 codified at 85A O.S.Supp.2013 § 31.).
68 O.S.2011 § 6101 :
A. All parties required to pay an assessment pursuant to Section 173 of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be entitled to receive a rebate equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the amount of the assessment actually paid, subject to application to and approval of the same by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. This rebate shall only apply to assessments due after January 15, 2002. This rebate shall not be considered in determining tax liability of an insurer pursuant to Section 629 of Title 36 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
B. Beginning January 1, 2003, the Oklahoma Tax Commission shall accept applications for rebates from all eligible parties for assessments paid pertaining to the previous calendar year. If any party fails to apply for a rebate on or before May 31 of each year, the Tax Commission shall reduce the amount of the rebate in the application by ten percent (10%). No rebates shall be paid until after July 1 of each year.
C. The Oklahoma Tax Commission may promulgate rules as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
68 O.S.2011 § 6102 :
There is hereby created within the State Treasury a special fund for the Oklahoma Tax Commission to be designated the Workers' Compensation Assessment Rebate Fund. The Oklahoma Tax Commission is hereby authorized and directed to withhold a portion of the taxes levied and collected pursuant to Section 2355 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes for deposit into the fund. The amount deposited shall be appropriate to pay the rebates provided for in Section 2 of this act. All of the amounts deposited in such fund shall be used and expended by the Oklahoma Tax Commission solely for the purpose of payment of rebates authorized by Section 2 of this act. The liability of the State of Oklahoma to make the rebate payments under Section 2 of this act shall be limited to the balance contained in the fund created by this section.
36 O.S.Supp.2002 § 1501 : "In determination of the financial condition of an insurer, there shall be allowed as assets only such assets as are owned by the insurer and which consist of: ... (12) Rebates determined and accrued pursuant to Section 2 of this act." The phrase "section 2 of this act" refers to section 2 of Laws 2002, c. 31, § 2, (H.B. No. 2752) where 68 O.S.Supp. § 6101 was created. 2002 Okla. Sess. Laws Ch. 31, §§ 1, 2.
Allen v. State ex rel. Bd. of Trustees of Oklahoma Uniform Retirement Sys. for Justices & Judges ,
Norman J. Singer & J.D. Shambie Singer, 2B Sutherland Statutory Construction § 51:8 (7th ed. 2015) (discussing construction of reference statutes).
See the discussion of repeal by implication herein and application of the general rule from Fent v. Henry ,
City of Pond Creek v. Haskell ,
Pentagon Academy, Inc. v. Independent School Dist. No. 1 of Tulsa County,
State v. Rasmussen ,
Dabney v. Hooker ,
El Encanto, Inc., v. Hatch Chile Company, Inc. ,
Matter of Commitment of Edward S. ,
Farmacy LLC v. Kirkpatrick,
If the language of the statute is plain and unambiguous, the legislative intent is deemed to be expressed by the statutory language. Torres v. Seaboard Foods , LLC,
Brown v. Claims Management Resources, Inc. ,
YDF, Inc. v. Schlumar, Inc. ,
S. S. Bowser & Co. v. Garwitz ,
Also addressed herein is the related issue, according to protestants a § 6101 rebate is authorized even with 85 O.S. §§ 173 and 403 repealed and 85A O.S. § 31 amended, and according to the Tax Commission, the rebate is not allowed considering these same statutes.
Dabney v. Hooker ,
See authority cited in note 41 supra .
Shepard v. Oklahoma Department of Corrections ,
See , e.g. , Samson Hydrocarbons Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission ,
See , e.g. , Sudbury v. Deterding ,
Due to the nature of our analysis herein, we need not explain the several various contexts where legislative numbering, or statutory placement for codification, or some other legislative classification does or does not have a role in judicial construction. See , e.g. , Twin Hills Golf & Country Club, Inc. v. Town of Forest Park ,
The Tax Commission's construction of 85 O.S.2011 § 403 as taking the place of former section 173 for the purpose of the rebate is consistent with language in Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp.
State ex rel. State Bd. of Agriculture of Okla. v. Warren ,
Fent v. Henry ,
For example, a similar analysis was used in National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife ,
Anderson v. Eichner ,
Torres v. Seaboard Foods, LLC ,
A clarifying amendment is one that explains ambiguous law in order to remove doubt concerning the original legislative intent in the original text. Polymer Fabricating, Inc. v. Employers Workers' Compensation Ass'n ,
Movants to Quash Multicounty Grand Jury Subpoena v. Dixon ,
For a few examples of the Insurance Commissioner regulating "insurance rates" and premiums see 36 O.S.Supp.2015 § 902.3 (involving workers' compensation and high-wage-paying and low-wage-paying employers in the same job classification); 36 O.S.2011 § 900.1 -905, 907 -908, 932 (as amended), 1204 (as amended), 3610, and 3611;
See note 8 supra .
Mustain v. Grand River Dam Authority ,
Haynes v. Caporal ,
See , e.g. , Branch Trucking Co. v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Comm'n ,
Hall v. Tirey ,
See , e.g. , Holliman v. Cole ,
City of Edmond v. Wakefield ,
Russell Petroleum Co. v. Walker ,
Redbird v. Oklahoma Tax Commission ,
See Franklin v. Margay Oil Corporation ,
Oklahoma Educ. Ass'n v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Legislature,
Cf . State v. Lynch ,
Okla. Const. art 2, § 7 provides: "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1 provides: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. ,
Baby F. v. Okla. County Dist. Court ,
Maxwell v. Sprint PCS ,
Cf . Crider v. Board of County Com'rs of County of Boulder ,
68 O.S. Supp. 2014 § 225 (E) :
If the appeal is from an order of the Tax Commission or a district court denying a refund of taxes previously paid and if upon final determination of the appeal, the order denying the refund is reversed or modified, the taxes previously paid, together with interest thereon from the date of the filing of the petition in error at the rate provided in subsection A of Section 217 of this title, shall be refunded to the taxpayer by the Tax Commission.
68 O.S. Supp. 2014 § 225(F) :
Such refunds and interest thereon shall be paid by the Tax Commission out of monies in the Tax Commission clearing account from subsequent collections from the same source as the original tax assessment, provided that in the event there are insufficient funds for refunds from subsequent collections from the same source, the refund shall be paid by the Tax Commission from monies appropriated by the Legislature to the special refund reserve account for such purposes as hereinafter provided. There is hereby created within the official depository of the State Treasury an agency special account for the Tax Commission for the purpose of making such refunds as may be required under this section, not otherwise provided. This account shall consist of monies appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of making refunds under this section.
85 O.S.2011 § 403 (H) : "The refund provisions of Sections 227 through 229 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be applicable to any payments made to the Multiple Injury Trust Fund. Refunds shall be paid from and out of the Multiple Injury Trust Fund."
85A O.S.Supp.2015 § 31 (H) : "The refund provisions of Sections 227 through 229 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be applicable to any payments made to the Multiple Injury Trust Fund. Refunds shall be paid from and out of the Multiple Injury Trust Fund." The same language is found in 85A O.S.Supp.2017 § 31(H).
See 68 O.S. § 6102 quoted in note 23 supra .
85A O.S.Supp.2015 § 31(I) states in part: "The Tax Commission shall pay, monthly to the State Treasurer to the credit of the Multiple Injury Fund all monies collected pursuant to the provisions of this section."
Price v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Commission,
68 O.S.2011 § 201 :
The purpose of this Article, which may be cited as the "Uniform Tax Procedure Code", is to provide, so far as is possible, uniform procedures and remedies with respect to all state taxes. Unless otherwise expressly provided in any state tax law, heretofore or hereafter enacted, the provisions of this article shall control and shall be exclusive.
Multiple Injury Trust Fund v. Coburn ,
In re O'Carroll ,
In 2011, the Legislature enacted 85 O.S. § 403 with essentially the same language. Section 403 was later repealed in 2013. The new Administrative Workers' Compensation Act (85A O.S. §§ 1 -401.1 ), enacted in 2013, contained a similar provision in 85A O.S. § 31. Section 31 was amended in 2015, eliminating the restriction on pass through of MITF assessments to policyholders. The rebate provision in 68 O.S. § 6101 referring to 85 O.S. § 173 was never amended. The fact that the OTC followed the trail and continued to pay rebates until 2015, does not change the fact that once 85 O.S. § 173 was repealed, OTC no longer had authority to issue rebates pursuant to 68 O.S. § 6101.
Prior to 2002, insurers and CompSource could pass on one-hundred percent (100%) of the MITF assessments to policyholders. After the enactment of the rebate program, policy holders benefitted by no longer shouldering the entire amount of MITF assessment, while insurers continued to be made whole for the actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of the MITF assessments.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMPSOURCE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Protestant/Appellant v. STATE of Oklahoma EX REL. OKLAHOMA TAX COMMISSION, Oklahoma Association of Electric Self Insurers Fund, Protestant/Appellant v. State of Oklahoma Tax Commission
- Cited By
- 51 cases
- Status
- Published