78S30308 KSD-F

By:  Giddings                                                     H.B. No. 63 


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) 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. (c) 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 a special account in the state treasury in accordance with Article 5.68(e), Insurance Code, to be used: (1) to fund the department's workers' compensation research 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 data, 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. Employees of the Research and Oversight Council on Workers' Compensation previously transferred to the Texas Department of Insurance under the Memorandum of Understanding of September 2, 2003, 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, Chapter 1330, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is appropriated 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, Chapter 1330, 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 Chapter 1330, 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 Sections 405.002 and 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session.