75R11488 SAW-D                           

         By Shields                                             H.B. No. 531

         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 531:

         By Van de Putte                                    C.S.H.B. No. 531

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to expunction of certain records of the Texas Department

 1-3     of Insurance.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 1, Insurance Code, is amended by adding

 1-6     Article 1.10F to read as follows:

 1-7           Art. 1.10F.  EXPUNCTION OF CERTAIN RECORDS.  (a)  In this

 1-8     article:

 1-9                 (1)  "License" includes:

1-10                       (A)  a license, permit, certificate, approval, or

1-11     registration issued by a state agency or any similar authorization

1-12     required by law; or

1-13                       (B)  any part of an authorization described by

1-14     Paragraph (A) of this subdivision.

1-15                 (2)  "Person" means an individual or partnership.

1-16           (b)  A person is entitled to expunction of  department

1-17     records  relating to a violation by the person of an article of

1-18     this code, a rule adopted under this code, or any other law related

1-19     to the practice of insurance in this state if:

1-20                 (1)  the person has not committed another violation

1-21     during the six years following the date of the violation;

1-22                 (2)  the violation did not injure a policyholder or an

1-23     insurance company;

1-24                 (3)  the violation did not result in the assessment of

 2-1     a monetary penalty against the person; and

 2-2                 (4)  the violation did not involve fraud or criminal

 2-3     activity.

 2-4           (c)  A person who is entitled to expunction of a record under

 2-5     Subsection (b) of this article may file a petition for expunction

 2-6     with the commissioner.

 2-7           (d)  A person who files a petition for expunction of a

 2-8     department record shall pay an advance expunction fee to cover the

 2-9     costs of the expunction proceedings.

2-10           (e)  On receipt of a petition for expunction, the

2-11     commissioner shall set a hearing on the matter and give reasonable

2-12     notice of the hearing to appropriate parties.

2-13           (f)  If the commissioner finds that the person is entitled to

2-14     expunction of any department record under Subsection (b) of this

2-15     article, the commissioner shall issue an expunction order.

2-16           (g)  After issuance of an expunction order:

2-17                 (1)  the department may not:

2-18                       (A)  release, disseminate, or use the expunged

2-19     record:

2-20                             (i)  in considering whether to approve or

2-21     deny the issuance to the person of a new or renewal license; or

2-22                             (ii)  in answering inquiries from another

2-23     state in relation to the person applying for a new or renewal

2-24     license in that state; or

2-25                       (B)  include the expunged record in any database

2-26     after the date of the expunction order; and

2-27                 (2)  the person for whom the commissioner grants

 3-1     expunction may deny the occurrence of the violation and the

 3-2     existence of the expunction order.

 3-3           (h)  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this

 3-4     article.

 3-5           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-6           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-7     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-8     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-9     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-10     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.