1-1     By:  Averitt (Senate Sponsor - Sibley)                H.B. No. 2284
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 1999;
 1-3     April 29, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Economic Development; May 11, 1999, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to a change in notice requirements for escrow agents when
 1-9     increasing premiums.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Article 21.57(b), Insurance Code, is amended to
1-12     read as follows:
1-13           (b)  Any insurer receiving automatic premium payments through
1-14     withdrawal of funds from a person's account, including the
1-15     withdrawal of funds from a person's escrow account, as authorized
1-16     by such person for purposes of premium payments on any insurance
1-17     coverage provided through such insurer, shall not increase those
1-18     premium payments to be withdrawn from such an account for paying
1-19     premiums on such insurance coverage unless:
1-20                 (1)  the insurer, not later than the 30th day before
1-21     the effective date of the increase in premium, notifies the person
1-22     of the increase and provides such person a postage prepaid form
1-23     that may be used to object to such increase; and
1-24                 (2)  neither the insurer nor the financial institution
1-25     receives written objection to the increase in premium at least five
1-26     days before the date on which such increase takes effect.
1-27           SECTION 2.  Article 21.57(d), Insurance Code, is repealed.
1-28           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-29           SECTION 4.  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.
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