(1) The department shall conduct research on chemically related illnesses, which shall include contracting with recognized medical research institutions. The department shall develop an implementation plan for research based on sound scientific research criteria, such as double blind studies, and shall include adequate provisions for peer review, and submit the plan to the worker’s [workers’] compensation advisory committee for review and approval. Following approval of the plan, all specific proposals for projects under the plan shall be submitted for review to a scientific advisory committee, established to provide scientific oversight of research projects, and to the workers’ compensation advisory committee. The department shall include a research project that encourages regional cooperation in addressing chemically related illness.

(2) Expenditures for research projects shall be within legislative appropriations from the medical aid fund, with self-insured employers and the state fund each paying a pro rata share, based on the number of worker hours, of the authorized expenditures. For the purposes of this subsection only, self-insured employers may deduct from the pay of each of their employees one-half of the share charged to the employer for the expenditures from the medical aid fund.