By Farrar                                             H.B. No. 2875
         76R6817 DLF-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the premium tax on certain life, health, and accident
 1-3     insurance policies.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 2(c), Article 4.11, Insurance Code, is
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (c)  "Gross premiums" are the total gross amount of all
 1-8     premiums, membership fees, assessments, dues, and any other
 1-9     considerations for such insurance received during the taxable year
1-10     on each and every kind of such insurance policy or contract
1-11     covering persons located in the State of Texas and arising from the
1-12     types of insurance specified in Section 1 of this article, but
1-13     deducting returned premiums, any dividends applied to purchase
1-14     paid-up additions to insurance or to shorten the endowment or
1-15     premium payment period, and excluding those premiums received from
1-16     insurance carriers for reinsurance and there shall be no deduction
1-17     for premiums paid for reinsurance.  For purposes of this article, a
1-18     stop-loss or excess loss insurance policy issued to a health
1-19     maintenance organization, as defined under the Texas Health
1-20     Maintenance Organization Act (Chapter 20A, Vernon's Texas Insurance
1-21     Code), shall be considered reinsurance.  Such gross premiums shall
1-22     not include premiums received from the Treasury of the State of
1-23     Texas or from the Treasury of the United States for insurance
1-24     contracted for by the state or federal government for the purpose
 2-1     of providing welfare benefits to designated welfare recipients or
 2-2     for insurance contracted for by the state or federal government in
 2-3     accordance with or in furtherance of the provisions of Title 2,
 2-4     Human Resources Code, or the Federal Social Security Act.  The
 2-5     gross premiums receipts so reported shall not include the amount of
 2-6     premiums paid on group health, accident, and life policies:
 2-7                 (1)  in which the group covered by the policy consists
 2-8     of a single nonprofit trust established to provide coverage
 2-9     primarily for municipal or county employees of this state; or
2-10                 (2)  for which any part of the premium is paid by a
2-11     school district.
2-12           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect January 1, 2000.
2-13           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a
2-14     premium tax imposed under Article 4.11, Insurance Code, as amended
2-15     by this Act, beginning January 1, 2000. A tax imposed under that
2-16     article before January 1, 2000, is governed by the law that existed
2-17     in the tax year in which that tax was imposed, and that law is
2-18     continued in effect for that purpose.
2-19           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.