1-1     By:  Averitt (Senate Sponsor - Sibley)                H.B. No. 1431
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 1999;
 1-3     April 27, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Economic Development; May 6, 1999, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 6, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to payment of an administering insurer or third party
 1-9     administrator by the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 7(f), Article 3.77, Insurance Code, is
1-12     amended to read as follows:
1-13           (f)  The pool shall pay an administering insurer or third
1-14     party administrator for its expenses incurred in performing its
1-15     duties and functions as provided by the plan of operation.  Except
1-16     as otherwise provided by this subsection, the [The] total amount of
1-17     administrative costs and fees paid in a calendar year to all
1-18     administering insurers or a third party administrator may not
1-19     exceed 12.5 percent of the gross premium receipts of the pool for
1-20     the [preceding] calendar year.  The commissioner may approve
1-21     payment of a higher amount, not to exceed 15 percent of the gross
1-22     premium receipts of the pool for the calendar year, if the
1-23     commissioner determines that the higher amount is necessary to pay
1-24     the administrative costs and fees of the pool.
1-25           SECTION 2.  This Act applies to payment made to all insurers
1-26     or third party administrators for administration of the Texas
1-27     Health Insurance Risk Pool for the 1999 calendar year or a
1-28     subsequent year.
1-29           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-30     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-31     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-32     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-33     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
1-34     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
1-35     passage, and it is so enacted.
1-36                                  * * * * *