By:  Ellis                                             S.B. No. 829
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the establishment of market assistance programs by the
    1-2  Commissioner of Insurance.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Article 21.49-12, Insurance Code, is amended to
    1-5  read as follows:
    1-6        Art. 21.49-12.  Market Assistance Programs
    1-7        Sec. 1.  Creation of programs.  The commissioner <State Board
    1-8  of Insurance> may establish a voluntary mechanism to be called a
    1-9  market assistance program to assist insureds in Texas in obtaining
   1-10  <liability> insurance coverage where it has been shown not to be
   1-11  readily available.  The types of risks to be assisted under each
   1-12  market assistance program will be established by the commissioner
   1-13  <board>.
   1-14        Sec. 2.  Plan of operation.  Each market assistance program
   1-15  shall be administered under a plan of operation promulgated by the
   1-16  commissioner <board>.   Each plan shall indicate types of coverage,
   1-17  policy forms and terms, application forms, eligibility, and overall
   1-18  operation of the program.  The commissioner <board> may not require
   1-19  an insurer to participate in the program, and the commissioner <but
   1-20  the board> may not permit an insurer to condition its participation
   1-21  in a manner that is inequitable to the participants.
   1-22        Sec. 3.  Executive committee.  (a)  An executive committee
   1-23  shall administer each market assistance program.
    2-1        (b)  The commissioner <board> shall appoint the members of an
    2-2  executive committee.
    2-3        (c)  The commissioner or the commissioner's designated
    2-4  representative from the department shall chair <At least one member
    2-5  of the board must be designated a member of> the executive
    2-6  committee.
    2-7        (d)  The plan of operation may provide for subcommittees that
    2-8  are necessary to carry out the functions of a program.
    2-9        (e)  A representative of the commissioner <board> must be
   2-10  present in every meeting of an executive committee or subcommittee.
   2-11        Sec. 4.  Agents.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of
   2-12  law, a market assistance program may have two categories of agents:
   2-13              (1)  an originating agent; and
   2-14              (2)  an issuing agent.
   2-15        (b)  An originating agent may complete an application for
   2-16  insurance on behalf of an insured for submission to the program
   2-17  without being appointed to represent the ultimate insurer.
   2-18        (c)  An issuing agent must be appointed to represent the
   2-19  ultimate insurer and shall perform all of the customary duties of
   2-20  an <a local recording> agent for the type of coverage provided
   2-21  <including but not limited to the following:>
   2-22              <(1)  signing, executing, and delivering policies of
   2-23  insurance;>
   2-24              <(2)  maintaining a record of the business;>
   2-25              <(3)  examining and inspecting the risk; and>
    3-1              <(4)  receiving and collecting premiums>.
    3-2        (d)  An originating agent may share commissions, as
    3-3  negotiated on an individual basis, with the issuing agent if the
    3-4  originating agent holds a license as either an <a local recording>
    3-5  agent or as a salaried representative for those companies whose
    3-6  plan of operation does not contemplate the use of <local recording>
    3-7  agents.
    3-8        (e)  The originating and issuing agent may be the same
    3-9  person.  If the originating agent and the issuing agent are not the
   3-10  same person, the originating agent may not be held to be the agent
   3-11  of the insurer unless there is an appointment as specified by
   3-12  Article 21.14 of this code.
   3-13        (f)  The program may not share in commissions.
   3-14        (g)  This section shall not be construed to amend or
   3-15  otherwise alter the contractual relationship between an insurer and
   3-16  its agent.  This section does not require insurers to appoint
   3-17  additional agents.
   3-18        Sec. 5.  Fees.  The plan of operation may provide reasonable
   3-19  application fees to be used to cover expenses of the program.
   3-20  These fees must be maintained in a separate account under the
   3-21  control of a fiscal agent designated in the plan of operation.
   3-22        Sec. 6.  Confidentiality.  (a)  The commissioner and the
   3-23  department <State Board of Insurance> shall maintain as
   3-24  confidential all application files and related documents received
   3-25  under this article.
    4-1        (b)  In maintaining confidentiality, the commissioner and the
    4-2  department <State Board of Insurance> shall not permit the files
    4-3  and related documents to be made available to the public except
    4-4  that the commissioner and the department <State Board of Insurance>
    4-5  shall allow access to those files and related documents to
    4-6  originating or issuing agents or to an applicant for his own file
    4-7  or to an insurer who agrees to insure the applicant.
    4-8        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
    4-9  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   4-10  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   4-11  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   4-12  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.