100% Success Rate
Lee Loftis, Governmental Affairs
This session, IIAT took on three major pieces of legislation relating to agents’ issues across Texas. All three passed successfully and will be signed into law.
Most important to agents across the board and IIAT’s priority legislation is the bill relating to certificates of insurance. SB 425 (Rep. Hancock/Sen. Carona) has passed through both the House and Senate, and will be signed by the governor by mid-June at the earliest. The road to passage was not without its bumps. Automated certificate vendors, property lenders, individual contractors, municipal attorneys and even the attorney general challenged parts of the bill, but in the end all were satisfied with minor amendments or intent language read into the record. Early buy-in by the oil and gas industry and the contractor associations helped IIAT respond to many challenges and retain the heart of the legislation. Implementation of the bill will require the Texas Department of Insurance to establish new procedures for filing and approving certificates. The earliest agents might see the approval process begin is January 2012. We anticipate that this law will improve the quality of certificates, reduce the number of non-standard certificates, and reduce agents’ liability to certificate holders.
HB 625 (Rep. Solomons/Sen. Carona), has been sent to the governor for final passage into law, with an effective date of Sept.1. It requires professional employer organizations (PEOs) to provide, upon request of their client, workers' compensation loss information so the client can obtain a quote for coverage outside the PEO. IIAT worked closely with representatives of the PEOs early in the session and throughout, making the bill’s road to passage possible.
HB 2503 (Rep. Thompson/Sen. Eltife), will eliminate the process of a non-resident agent having to first register with the Secretary of State before being allowed to obtain a non-resident license from TDI. It will ultimately encourage uniformity among states nationwide, leading to more simplified non-resident licensing for Texas agents. This IIAT-driven bill has already been signed by the governor and will also have an effective date of Sept. 1.
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TWIA Meltdown/TDI Sunset Completion
Lee Loftis, Governmental Affairs
Internal politics and legislative deadlines were the culprits in the demise of the highly publicized Texas Windstorm Insurance Association reform bill.
HB 272, which was the vehicle for TWIA reform legislation, was vetted in both the House and Senate, where amendments to the original language were added in each house. Because the originating bill author, Rep. Smithee (R-Amarillo), disagreed with amendments added by the Senate, he requested the bill be sent to conference committee, comprised of five representatives and five senators, to be vetted once again and agreed upon before its final passage. With limited days left in the session, Smithee’s legislative maneuver sealed the fate of the bill.
IIAT provided recommendations to this bill throughout the entire process. Keeping agents involved in the application process, both initial and renewal, and protecting agents’ commissions were at the top of the list. It’s possible that the governor may call a special legislative session to pass a bill addressing TWIA funding and reform, but at this point it has not been put in the call of the first special session.
If you’ll recall, a legislative bill regarding the sunset review of TDI was filed last session and died a slow death due to House and Senate dramatics. This session, an almost identical bill, HB 1951 by Rep. Taylor (R-Friendswood) and Sen. Hegar (R-Katy), was re-filed to ensure the continuation of the department. The bill made its way through the conference committee process, and is on its way to the governor. IIAT made sure the bill language was friendly to agents.
Passing any sort of legislation into law, whether it be the budget or a simple bill relating to feral hogs, is always a challenge. IIAT narrowly avoided many obstacles along the way, but stayed the course, with the help of members too numerous to mention here. Success this session can be attributed 100 percent to the foundation IIAT has built upon with legislators, TDI and their staffs.
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Other Bills of Agent Interest
Lee Loftis, Governmental Affairs
IIAT tracked more than 150 bills with implications for insurance agents. Of these tracked bills, 16 have been sent to the governor for his signature and one remains in limbo. The first called special session of the 82nd legislature began on Tuesday, May 31, the day after the regular session adjourned, sine die. Two subjects were put into the call, one dealing with health care cost containment, and one dealing with the budget.
SB 1811 from the 82R relates to the state budget, more specifically school finance. Included in the 393 page bill is the $1 million margins tax exemption for small businesses. IIAT worked alongside several business associations, including the National Federation of Independent Business, on amending the margins tax to retain the million dollar exemption. A similar bill was filed in the special session. We believe that the exemption language will remain intact upon final passage of the budget.
Below is a summary of other bills that have passed and are awaiting the governor's signature. Updated analysis of these and other bills will be available shortly on the IIAT website.
HB 274 by Creighton (R-Conroe) – “Loser Pays” bill which requires the Supreme Court to establish rules for dismissal of frivolous suits as well as to adopt rules for expediting suits.
HB 1032 by Smithee (R-Amarillo) – Relating to requiring a 20-day rescission period for annuity contracts that are sold in Texas.
HB 2093 by Thompson (D-Houston) – Relating to the operation and regulation of certain consolidated insurance programs.
HB 2154 by Eiland (D-Galveston) - A correcting bill that IIAT supported that changes the continuing education requirement for Medicare-related and annuity coverage from an annual to a two-year license cycle.
HB 2655 by Sheets (R-Dallas) – Relating to the requirement of a carrier to provide 30 days written notice for a reduction of coverage on renewal.
SB 1806 by Lucio (D-Brownsville) – Relating to the timely filing of surplus lines policies by surplus lines agents and setting penalties for late filing of policies.
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