Since his election in 2002, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has labored to bring jobs to his state by making it a better place to do business.

One of Gov. Sanford’s biggest, ongoing battles has been with the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission. Unlike similar commissions in most other states, this SC commission has not been using objective American Medical Association standards to match compensation for workers with injuries. As a result, workers’ comp premiums have been soaring by double-digit rates, punishing local businesses and pushing South Carolina from ranking 49th in workers’ comp premiums down to 25th in just seven years.

If you think you smell the trial bar lurking here somewhere, you’re right on target. Enterprising trial lawyers hate objective AMA standards because they limit the ability to score big settlements and exorbitant legal fees.

The South Carolina State Legislature passed workers’ comp reform last year, which was helpful, and Gov. Sanford followed up with an executive order requiring the Commission to use objective ABA standards. As National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler (himself a former Governor) wrote at the time, Sanford’s executive order would have resulted in a 10-15% reduction in workers’ comp premiums.

But South Carolina businesses never saw these benefits because the Commission balked at Gov. Sanford’s executive order.

Yesterday, Gov. Sanford and the Commission reached a partial agreement that would force the disclosure of attorneys’ fees awarded in workers’ comp cases, ending the Commission’s practice of hiding these fees from public view. While sunlight is always a good disinfectant, apparently the Commission still refuses to use objective AMA standards. But the battle is far from over. As Cam Crawford, Director of the SC Civil Justice Coalition put it:

This is a skirmish in a larger war to protect South Carolina businesses, especially small businesses. If anything, this proposed settlement reinforces how important it is that we put objective workers’ compensation guidelines into the South Carolina code of laws.