By Ellis                                               S.B. No. 332
       74R2833 PB-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to public access to certain underwriting guidelines used
    1-3  by insurers.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Article 1.24D, Insurance Code, is amended to read
    1-6  as follows:
    1-7        Art. 1.24D.  <CONFIDENTIALITY OF> UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES.
    1-8  <(a)>  The department or the office of public insurance counsel may
    1-9  require disclosure <request and receive copies> of an insurer's
   1-10  underwriting guidelines.  Underwriting guidelines are open records
   1-11  for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, <confidential> and
   1-12  the department or the office of public insurance counsel may
   1-13  disclose <not make> the guidelines <available> to the public<,
   1-14  provided, however, that the department or the office of public
   1-15  insurance counsel may disclose a summary of the underwriting
   1-16  guidelines in a manner that does not directly or indirectly
   1-17  identify the insurer who provided the guidelines>.
   1-18        <(b)  This law does not preclude the use of underwriting
   1-19  guidelines as evidence to prosecute a violation of this code.  If
   1-20  guidelines are used to prosecute a violation of the law, all copies
   1-21  of those guidelines shall be presumed confidential and subject to a
   1-22  protective order until all appeals on the case have been exhausted.
   1-23  After the exhaustion of all appeals, if an insurer is found to have
   1-24  violated this code, the copies of the underwriting guidelines that
    2-1  were used as evidence of the violation shall no longer be presumed
    2-2  confidential.>
    2-3        <(c)  When such guidelines are furnished to the department or
    2-4  the office of public insurance counsel, only those persons within
    2-5  the department or the office of public insurance counsel with a
    2-6  need to know will have access to such guidelines.  The department
    2-7  and the office of public insurance counsel shall establish internal
    2-8  control systems to limit such access and keep a record thereof.>
    2-9        <(d)  Violations of the provisions of this article shall be
   2-10  considered as violation of the open records law, Chapter 424, Acts
   2-11  of the 63rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1973 (Article 6252-17a,
   2-12  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).>
   2-13        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-14  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-15  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-16  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-17  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-18  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-19  passage, and it is so enacted.