By Ellis                                        S.B. No. 1142

      75R1200 PB-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to public access to certain underwriting guidelines used

 1-3     by insurers.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Article 1.24D, Insurance Code, is amended to read

 1-6     as follows:

 1-7           Art. 1.24D.  [CONFIDENTIALITY OF] UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES.

 1-8     [(a)]  The department or the office of public insurance counsel may

 1-9     require disclosure to the department or office [request and receive

1-10     copies] of an insurer's underwriting guidelines.  Underwriting

1-11     guidelines in the possession of the department or office are public

1-12     information available to the public under Chapter 552, Government

1-13     Code [confidential and the department or the office of public

1-14     insurance counsel may not make the guidelines available to the

1-15     public, provided, however, that the department or the office of

1-16     public insurance counsel may disclose a summary of the underwriting

1-17     guidelines in a manner that does not directly or indirectly

1-18     identify the insurer who provided the guidelines].

1-19           [(b)  This law does not preclude the use of underwriting

1-20     guidelines as evidence to prosecute a violation of this code.  If

1-21     guidelines are used to prosecute a violation of the law, all copies

1-22     of those guidelines shall be presumed confidential and subject to a

1-23     protective order until all appeals on the case have been exhausted.

1-24     After the exhaustion of all appeals, if an insurer is found to have

 2-1     violated this code, the copies of the underwriting guidelines that

 2-2     were used as evidence of the violation shall no longer be presumed

 2-3     confidential.]

 2-4           [(c)  When such guidelines are furnished to the department or

 2-5     the office of public insurance counsel, only those persons within

 2-6     the department or the office of public insurance counsel with a

 2-7     need to know will have access to such guidelines.  The department

 2-8     and the office of public insurance counsel shall establish internal

 2-9     control systems to limit such access and keep a record thereof.]

2-10           [(d)  Violations of the provisions of this article shall be

2-11     considered as violation of the open records law, Chapter 424, Acts

2-12     of the 63rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1973 (Article 6252-17a,

2-13     Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).]

2-14           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-15     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-16     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-17     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-18     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-19     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-20     passage, and it is so enacted.