House Bill 2214 amends RCW 51.14.130 and RCW 51.32.190 to change procedures and timelines for how self-insurers handle industrial insurance claims. It requires a self-insurer that allows a claim to issue an allowance order within 30 days of notice and forbids including other claim decisions in that allowance order. If a self-insurer takes no action within 60 days after notice, it must forward the matter to the department, notify the worker and the director that the claim is in provisional status, and notify if provisional time-loss payments are being made; the department must then promptly determine whether the claim is allowed or denied. A self-insurer that denies a claim must request denial and mail or give written notice with reasons to the claimant and the director within 60 days of notice of the claim; failure to act within 60 days triggers department intervention and adjudication. The bill also makes procedural changes about payments and records: the first payment of temporary disability compensation must be made within 14 days after notice of claim and continue at regular semimonthly or biweekly intervals; upon making the first income benefit payment the self-insurer must immediately notify the director on a form the director prescribes; the director may require records of payments, including initial payments, terminations, and benefit changes, on a prescribed form. The amendment clarifies that acceptance of compensation by a claimant and payment by a self-insurer are not binding determinations of rights or future obligations until the department enters an order in a disputed case, and it affirms the director’s authority to inquire, order exams, hold hearings, make orders/decisions/awards, and adopt rules to ensure fair and prompt handling when payments are made without an award or payment rights are controverted. Affected parties identified include self-insurers, the department and director named in the statute, claimants/workers, and beneficiaries. The change is procedural and administrative in nature (timelines, notice, recordkeeping, and adjudicative authority), not a new crime or penalty change. Important context is missing or unclear in the provided text: the specific department and the official title of the director are not named here, the bill title refers to allowing “certain” claims but the extracted text does not define what those are, some deadline language is ambiguous (references to 60 versus 65 days), and the prescribed forms and the exact contents of required records are not detailed.

If enacted, the bill forces self-insuring employers and entities to act faster on workers’ claims: they must either allow a claim within about a month or pay temporary disability within two weeks and notify the director immediately, and if they do nothing within about 60 days the claim is sent to the state department and the worker is put on provisional pay if eligible. Practically, that will increase short-term cash outlays and administrative work for self-insurers (more prompt payments, faster written notices, and responding to director requests for payment records), while claimants stand to get quicker provisional payments and have the department step in automatically when a self-insurer delays or disputes payment. Key operational details remain unclear from the provided text — the bill doesn’t name the specific department or director, uses inconsistent day counts (60 versus a referenced 65 days), doesn’t define which “certain” claims are affected, and leaves the required forms and record contents unspecified — so some implementation timing and procedure questions would still need to be resolved.