1-1     By:  Van de Putte (Senate Sponsor - Harris)           H.B. No. 2062

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 1997;

 1-3     May 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Economic

 1-4     Development; May 17, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 17, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to rate proceedings before the commissioner of insurance.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Article 1.09-5, Insurance Code, is amended to

1-11     read as follows:

1-12           Art. 1.09-5. DEPARTMENT PARTICIPATION [EMPLOYEE] IN

1-13     PROCEEDINGS TO SET RATES.  (a) The [Except as provided by

1-14     Subsection (c) of this  section, an employee of the] department may

1-15     [not] appear as a matter of right as a party, present evidence, or

1-16     question witnesses in any proceeding before the commissioner

1-17     [board] or the [its] designated hearings officer in which insurance

1-18     rates are set under this code.

1-19           (b)  The [This article does not prohibit access by an

1-20     employee of the department to any data collected by or submitted to

1-21     the department.]

1-22           [(c)  An employee of the department may appear before the

1-23     board or its designated hearings officer only as follows:]

1-24                 [(1)  a member of the department's legal staff may

1-25     assist the board or its designated hearings officer in the

1-26     prehearing process and in aligning parties to board proceedings;]

1-27                 [(2)  one or more employees of the department may

1-28     appear as a party, present evidence, and question witnesses in a

1-29     proceeding in which the public counsel under Section 5(b)(1),

1-30     Article 1.35A of this code is not authorized by law to appear;]

1-31                 [(3)  an employee responsible for collecting and

1-32     compiling rate data may appear and present evidence relating to the

1-33     validity of the compiled data and a licensed attorney employed as

1-34     part of the legal staff of the department may assist such employee

1-35     in making the presentation;]

1-36                 [(4)  one or more employees of the department may

1-37     present evidence in any rate filing case under Article 5.13-2,

1-38     5.15, 5.55, or 5.81 of this code;]

1-39                 [(5)  the general counsel or an assistant general

1-40     counsel may assist the board in any proceeding in which insurance

1-41     rates are set;  and]

1-42                 [(6)  the] general counsel or an assistant general

1-43     counsel may be designated by the commissioner [board] and may serve

1-44     as a hearings officer in any proceeding in which insurance rates

1-45     are set or any prehearing proceeding, provided that any final

1-46     decision relating to rates to be set must be made [set] by the

1-47     commissioner [board].

1-48           SECTION 2.  Nothing in Article 1.09-5, Insurance Code, as

1-49     amended by this Act, shall be considered as amending, limiting,

1-50     expanding, or modifying the provisions of Article 1.33B of the

1-51     Insurance Code.  In the event of any conflict between the

1-52     provisions of Article 1.09-5 and Article 1.33B, the provisions of

1-53     Article 1.33B shall control and continue to be fully effective

1-54     notwithstanding any of the provisions of Article 1.09-5.

1-55           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-56           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-57     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-58     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-59     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-60     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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