By Lewis of Tarrant                             H.B. No. 3232

      75R9343 DLF-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to certain employees of local recording agents.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 20, Article 21.14, Insurance Code, is

 1-5     amended to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 20.  LIFE, HEALTH AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE, INAPPLICABLE

 1-7     TO; OTHER EXCEPTIONS.  No provisions of this article shall apply to

 1-8     the Life, Health and Accident Insurance business or the Life,

 1-9     Health and Accident Department of the companies engaged therein,

1-10     nor shall it apply to any of the following, namely:

1-11                 (a)  Any actual full-time home office salaried employee

1-12     of any insurance carrier licensed to do business in Texas.

1-13                 (b)  Any actual attorney in fact and its actual

1-14     traveling salaried representative as to business transacted through

1-15     such attorney in fact or salaried representative of any reciprocal

1-16     exchange or interinsurance exchange admitted to do business in

1-17     Texas.

1-18                 (c)  Any adjuster of losses, and/or inspector of risks,

1-19     for an insurance carrier licensed to do business in Texas.

1-20                 (d)  Any General Agent or State Agent or Branch Manager

1-21     representing an admitted and licensed insurance company or carrier,

1-22     or insurance companies or carriers, in a supervisory capacity.

1-23                 (e)  The actual attorney in fact for any Lloyds.

1-24                 (f)  All incorporated or unincorporated mutual

 2-1     insurance companies, their agents and representatives, organized

 2-2     and/or operating under and by authority of Chapters 16 and 17 of

 2-3     this code.

 2-4                 (g)  Nothing in this entire article shall ever be

 2-5     construed to apply to any member, agent, employee, or

 2-6     representative of any county or farm mutual insurance company as

 2-7     exempted under Chapters 16 and 17 of this code.

 2-8                 (h)  Nothing in this article shall apply to the group

 2-9     motor vehicle insurance business or the group motor vehicle

2-10     department of the companies engaged in that business.

2-11                 (i)  This article does not apply to a salaried employee

2-12     in the office of a local recording agent who:

2-13                       (1)  is not involved in solicitation or

2-14     negotiation of insurance;

2-15                       (2)  devotes the employee's full time to clerical

2-16     and administrative services, which may include the incidental

2-17     taking of information from customers and receipt of premiums in the

2-18     office of the local recording agent; and

2-19                       (3)  does not receive commissions and whose

2-20     compensation does not vary as a result of the volume of premiums

2-21     taken or received.

2-22           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-23           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-24     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-25     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-26     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-27     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.