1-1 By: Ellis S.B. No. 1142
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 1997; March 17, 1997, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
1-4 May 6, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 1; May 6, 1997,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1142 By: Ellis
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to public access to certain underwriting guidelines used
1-11 by insurers.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 1.24D, Insurance Code, is
1-14 amended to read as follows:
1-15 (a) The department or the office of public insurance counsel
1-16 may require disclosure to the department or the office of public
1-17 insurance counsel [request and receive copies] of an insurer's
1-18 underwriting guidelines. Underwriting guidelines are confidential
1-19 and the department or the office of public insurance counsel may
1-20 not make the guidelines available to the public, provided, however,
1-21 that the department or the office of public insurance counsel may
1-22 disclose the underwriting guidelines of an individual insurer
1-23 without directly identifying the insurer who provided those
1-24 guidelines or a summary of the underwriting guidelines in a manner
1-25 that does not directly or indirectly identify the insurer who
1-26 provided the guidelines.
1-27 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
1-28 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-29 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-30 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-31 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
1-32 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
1-33 passage, and it is so enacted.
1-34 * * * * *