BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4153

By: Sanford

Insurance

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

State law requires title insurance companies, title insurance agents, and direct operations to submit annual audit reports of trust fund accounts to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Currently, these reports must be submitted to TDI by certified mail with postage prepaid. As TDI receives and processes more than 650 reports annually, this requirement constitutes an unnecessary administrative burden on TDI at the same time that TDI otherwise has been streamlining its procedures to go paperless. H.B. 4153 seeks to provide for the electronic submission of these annual audit reports.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 4153 amends the Insurance Code to remove the requirement for a title insurance agent, direct operation, or title insurance company to send a copy of the annual audit of applicable trust fund accounts prepared for the agent, operation, or company to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) by certified mail, postage prepaid. The bill requires those entities instead to file with TDI one copy of each such audit report, without specifying the manner of filing.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.