| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the composition of the board of directors of the Texas |
|
|
Windstorm Insurance Association. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Sections 2210.102(a), (c), (f), and (g), |
|
|
Insurance Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The board of directors is composed of 11 [nine] members |
|
|
appointed by the governor [commissioner] in accordance with this |
|
|
section. |
|
|
(c) Six [Four] members must, as of the date of the |
|
|
appointment, reside in the first tier coastal counties. One [At
|
|
|
least one] of the members appointed under this subsection must be a |
|
|
property and casualty agent who is licensed under this code and is |
|
|
not a captive agent. Other members appointed under this subsection: |
|
|
(1) must be association policyholders nominated by the |
|
|
office of public insurance counsel; and |
|
|
(2) may not be property and casualty agents. |
|
|
(f) Insurers who are members of the association shall |
|
|
nominate, from among those members, persons to fill any vacancy in |
|
|
the four board of director seats reserved for representatives of |
|
|
the insurance industry. The board of directors shall solicit |
|
|
nominations from the members and submit the nominations to the |
|
|
governor [commissioner]. The nominee slate submitted to the |
|
|
governor [commissioner] under this subsection must include at least |
|
|
three more names than the number of vacancies. The governor |
|
|
[commissioner] shall appoint replacement insurance industry |
|
|
representatives from the nominee slate. |
|
|
(g) The governor [commissioner] shall appoint one person to |
|
|
serve as a nonvoting member of the board to advise the board |
|
|
regarding issues relating to the inspection process. The governor |
|
|
[commissioner] may give preference in an appointment under this |
|
|
subsection to a person who is a qualified inspector under Section |
|
|
2210.254. The nonvoting member appointed under this subsection |
|
|
[section] must: |
|
|
(1) be an engineer licensed by, and in good standing |
|
|
with, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers; |
|
|
(2) reside in a first tier coastal county; and |
|
|
(3) be knowledgeable of, and have professional |
|
|
expertise in, wind-related design and construction practices in |
|
|
coastal areas that are subject to high winds and hurricanes. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Sections 2210.103(a) and (c), Insurance Code, |
|
|
are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Members of the board of directors serve two-year |
|
|
[three-year staggered] terms[, with the terms of three members
|
|
|
expiring on the third Tuesday of March of each year]. |
|
|
(c) A member of the board of directors may be removed by the |
|
|
governor [commissioner] with cause stated in writing and posted on |
|
|
the association's website. The governor [commissioner] shall |
|
|
appoint a replacement in the manner provided by Section 2210.102 |
|
|
for a member who leaves or is removed from the board of directors. |
|
|
SECTION 3. (a) The board of directors of the Texas |
|
|
Windstorm Insurance Association established under Section |
|
|
2210.102, Insurance Code, as that section existed before amendment |
|
|
by this Act, is abolished effective December 1, 2015. |
|
|
(b) The governor shall appoint the members of the board of |
|
|
directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association under |
|
|
Section 2210.102, Insurance Code, as amended by this Act, not later |
|
|
than December 1, 2015. |
|
|
(c) The term of a person who is serving as a member of the |
|
|
board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association |
|
|
immediately before the abolition of that board under Subsection (a) |
|
|
of this section expires on December 1, 2015. Such a person is |
|
|
eligible for appointment by the governor to the new board of |
|
|
directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, subject to |
|
|
the requirements of Section 2210.102, Insurance Code, as amended by |
|
|
this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |