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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to eligibility to establish a multiple employer welfare |
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arrangement. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 846.053, Insurance Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and |
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(d-1) to read as follows: |
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(b) The employers in the multiple employer welfare |
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arrangement must: |
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(1) be members of an association or group of five or |
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more businesses that are in the same trade or industry, including |
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closely related businesses that provide support, services, or |
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supplies primarily to that trade or industry; or |
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(2) each have a principal place of business in the same |
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region that does not exceed the boundaries of this state or the |
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boundaries of a metropolitan statistical area designated by the |
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United States Office of Management and Budget. |
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(c) If the employers in the multiple employer welfare |
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arrangement are members of an association, the association must[: |
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[(1)] be engaged in substantial activity for its |
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members other than sponsorship of an employee welfare benefit |
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plan[; and |
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[(2) have been in existence for at least two years |
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before engaging in any activities relating to providing employee |
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health benefits to its members]. |
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(c-1) To determine whether a multiple employer welfare |
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arrangement is considered a large employer, participating |
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employees are counted in the aggregate at the level of the multiple |
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employer welfare arrangement. |
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(d-1) A working owner of a trade or business without |
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employees may qualify both as an employer and as an employee of the |
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trade or industry for the purposes of this section. |
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SECTION 2. Section 846.053, Insurance Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies only to an application for a certificate of |
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authority as a multiple employer welfare arrangement submitted on |
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or after January 1, 2022. An application submitted before January |
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1, 2022, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the |
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effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for |
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that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |