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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, State insurance regulators have ensured the |
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solvency of this nation's insurers, implemented a comprehensive |
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consumer protection scheme, licensed insurance companies and |
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agents, and supervised other areas of the insurance business for |
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over 150 years; and |
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WHEREAS, State regulators oversee thousands of insurance |
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companies and millions of agents and respond to more than three |
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million inquiries per year; and |
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WHEREAS, State insurance regulation has been largely |
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successful and effective, has adapted to changes in the |
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marketplace, and encourages innovation; and |
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WHEREAS, State legislatures and state insurance regulators |
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are more responsive to the needs of consumers and are more aware of |
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and responsive to the unique characteristics and demands of |
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individual states; and |
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WHEREAS, Many states, including Texas, regularly update |
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state insurance laws and have recently enacted legislation that |
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enables the insurance industry to more effectively respond to |
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changing market conditions; and |
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WHEREAS, Governors, state legislators, and insurance |
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commissioners have acknowledged the need to streamline and simplify |
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insurance regulation and are working to enact reforms to remedy the |
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unnecessary differences in state laws and eliminate requirements |
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that prevent insurers and agents from serving the needs of |
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insurance consumers in an effective and timely manner; and |
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WHEREAS, The 109th Congress considered, and the 110th |
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Congress is expected to consider, legislation that would establish |
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an entirely new insurance regulatory system at the federal level |
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and threaten the continued viability of the state system in the |
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process; and |
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WHEREAS, A new and untested federal insurance regulatory |
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system would almost certainly be more remote and politicized and |
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less accessible and responsive to consumers than the current state |
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system; and |
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WHEREAS, If enacted by congress, these proposals would |
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bifurcate insurance regulation between the states and the federal |
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government, conflicting with the state system of consumer |
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protections and financial surveillance, as well as inevitably |
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causing a loss of jobs, taxes, fees, and other vital and necessary |
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state revenues needed to effectively regulate the insurance market |
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and provide revenues to support residual market programs; and |
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WHEREAS, Insurance companies paid $13.8 billion in annual |
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premium taxes to the states in 2004, and a federalization of |
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insurance regulation could put these payments and other fees and |
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revenues at risk; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully declare to the Congress of the United States |
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the legislature's commitment to maintaining the states as the sole |
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regulators of the business of insurance and to supporting state |
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efforts to streamline, simplify, and modernize insurance |
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regulation; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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oppose any proposed law that would establish a federal insurance |
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regulatory system or otherwise alter the McCarran-Ferguson Act; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the |
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speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, to the members of the United |
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States House Financial Services Committee, to the members of the |
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United States Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, |
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to the United States secretary of the treasury, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request |
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that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional |
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Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of |
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America. |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 60 was adopted by the Senate |
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on May 8, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 60 was adopted by the House |
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on May 23, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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Approved: |
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______________________________ |
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Date |
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______________________________ |
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Governor |