78S20037 JMM-F
By: Swinford H.B. No. 22
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the performance of workers' compensation research by
the Texas Department of Insurance; making an appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 5, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 405 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 405. WORKERS' COMPENSATION RESEARCH
Sec. 405.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "department"
means the Texas Department of Insurance.
Sec. 405.002. WORKERS' COMPENSATION RESEARCH DUTIES OF
DEPARTMENT. (a) The department shall conduct professional studies
and research related to:
(1) the delivery of benefits;
(2) litigation and controversy related to workers'
compensation;
(3) insurance rates and rate-making procedures;
(4) rehabilitation and reemployment of injured
workers;
(5) workplace health and safety issues;
(6) the quality and cost of medical benefits; and
(7) other matters relevant to the cost, quality, and
operational effectiveness of the workers' compensation system.
(b) In addition to the studies and research conducted under
Subsection (a), the department shall conduct studies and research
related to drugs in the workplace, giving priority to drug abuse in
public and private establishments in which drug abuse could result
in serious consequences to the public. The studies and research
must include a survey designed to identify future needs and current
efforts of employers to counteract drug abuse and its effects in the
workplace.
(c) The department shall identify, collect, maintain, and
analyze the key information required to assess the operational
effectiveness of the workers' compensation system. The department
shall provide the information obtained under this subsection to the
governor and the legislature on a quarterly basis.
(d) The department may apply for and spend grant funds to
implement this chapter.
Sec. 405.003. FUNDING; MAINTENANCE TAX. (a) The
department's duties under this chapter are funded through the
assessment of a maintenance tax collected annually from all
insurance carriers, and self-insurance groups that hold
certificates of approval under Chapter 407A, except governmental
entities.
(b) The department shall set the rate of the maintenance tax
based on the expenditures authorized and the receipts anticipated
in legislative appropriations. The tax rate for insurance
companies may not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the correctly
reported gross workers' compensation insurance premiums. The tax
rate for certified self-insurers may not exceed one-tenth of one
percent of the total tax base of all certified self-insurers, as
computed under Section 407.103(b). The tax rate for self-insurance
groups described by Subsection (a) may not exceed one-tenth of one
percent of the group's gross premium for the group's retention,
excluding premium collected by the group for excess insurance.
(c) The tax imposed under Subsection (a) is in addition to
all other taxes imposed on those insurance carriers for workers'
compensation purposes.
(d) The tax on insurance companies and on self-insurance
groups described by Subsection (a) shall be assessed, collected,
and paid in the same manner and at the same time as the maintenance
tax established for the support of the department under Article
5.68, Insurance Code. The tax on certified self-insurers shall be
assessed, collected, and paid in the same manner and at the same
time as the self-insurer maintenance tax collected under Section
407.104.
(e) Amounts received under this section shall be deposited
in the state treasury in accordance with Article 5.68(e), Insurance
Code, to be used:
(1) for the operation of the department's duties under
this chapter; and
(2) to reimburse the general revenue fund in
accordance with Article 4.19, Insurance Code.
(f) Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to the
special account established under this section.
Sec. 405.004. COORDINATION WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES;
CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) As required to fulfill the department's
objectives under this chapter, the department is entitled to access
to the files and records of:
(1) the commission;
(2) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(3) the Texas Department of Human Services;
(4) the State Office of Risk Management; and
(5) other state agencies.
(b) A state agency shall assist and cooperate in providing
the information to the department.
(c) Information that is confidential under state law is
accessible to the department under rules of confidentiality and
remains confidential.
(d) The identity of an individual or entity selected to
participate in a department survey or who participates in such a
survey is confidential and is not subject to public disclosure
under Chapter 552, Government Code.
SECTION 2. (a) Chapter 404 and Section 413.021(f), Labor
Code, are repealed.
(b) The Research and Oversight Council on Workers'
Compensation, including the council's board of directors, is
abolished on the effective date of this Act. All state records and
other property and unexpended and unobligated appropriations of the
council on the effective date of this Act are transferred to the
Texas Department of Insurance. All employees of the Research and
Oversight Council on Workers' Compensation become employees of the
Texas Department of Insurance on the effective date of this Act.
Any reference in law to the Research and Oversight Council on
Workers' Compensation, the council's board of directors, the Texas
Workers' Compensation Research Center, or the research center's
board means the Texas Department of Insurance or the commissioner
of insurance, as appropriate.
SECTION 3. (a) For each fiscal year of the state fiscal
biennium beginning September 1, 2003, the amount of $832,396,
pursuant to the allocation made by Section 11.15(b), Article IX,
H.B. 1, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is
allocated to the Texas Department of Insurance for the purpose of
performing the department's duties under Chapter 405, Labor Code,
as added by this Act, and the amount available for transfer under
Section 11.15(c), Article IX, H.B. 1, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is correspondingly reduced by that amount.
(b) Rider 1 immediately following the appropriation to the
Research and Oversight Council on Workers' Compensation made by
H.B. 1, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003,
applies to the appropriation made by Subsection (a) of this
section.
(c) The special account established under Section 404.003,
Labor Code, as that section existed before being repealed by this
Act, is re-created and transferred to the Texas Department of
Insurance's General Revenue and Insurance Companies Maintenance
Tax and Insurance Department Fees Account to be used for the
purposes described by Section 405.003, Labor Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect December 1, 2003.