RS H.B. 1976 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS INSURANCE H.B. 1976 By: Smithee 3-21-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Under current law, insurers domiciled in Texas are subject to different net worth requirements depending upon the chapters of the Insurance Code under which they are licensed, even if they expose themselves to similar risks. Also, certain insurers are not subject to the risk based capital requirements that the Texas Department of Insurance adopts via administrative regulations. PURPOSE To subject certain property and casualty insurers to TDI's risk based capital requirements by specifying that an exemption from these requirements is limited to those insurers that write business only in this state and that are not required by law to have capital stock. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. - Amends subsection (f), article 2.20, Insurance Code, by specifying that it applies to insurers that write business only in this state and that are not required by law to have capital stock. SECTION 2. - Act takes effect on September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. - Provides that the change in law made by the act applies only to the minimum free surplus or guaranty fund and free surplus of an insurer on or after January 1, 1998. SECTION 4. - Emergency Clause.