Texas 2011 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB800 Comm Sub / Bill

                    By: Duncan S.B. No. 800
 (In the Senate - Filed February 18, 2011; March 1, 2011,
 read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
 March 30, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; March 30, 2011,
 sent to printer.)
 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 800 By:  Duncan


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to the qualifications and operations of workers'
 compensation data collection agents.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 401.024, Labor Code, is amended by
 amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
 read as follows:
 (c)  The commissioner may designate and contract with one or
 more [a] data collection agents [agent] to fulfill the data
 collection requirements of this subtitle. To qualify as a data
 collection agent, an organization must demonstrate at least five
 years of experience in data collection, data maintenance, data
 quality control, accounting, and related areas.
 (e)  A data collection agent may collect from a reporting
 insurance carrier, other than a governmental entity, any fees
 necessary for the agent to recover the necessary and reasonable
 costs of collecting data from that reporting insurance carrier.
 (f)  A reporting insurance carrier, other than a
 governmental entity, shall pay the fee to the data collection agent
 for the data collection services provided by the data collection
 agent.
 (g)  The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
 this section.
 SECTION 2.  Subsection (c), Section 406.009, Labor Code, is
 amended to read as follows:
 (c)  The commissioner may designate a data collection agent,
 implement an electronic reporting and public information access
 program, and adopt rules as necessary to implement the data
 collection requirements of this subchapter.  The commissioner may
 establish the form, manner, and procedure for the transmission of
 information to the division. A data collection agent designated
 under this subsection must be qualified and may collect fees in the
 manner described by Section 401.024.
 SECTION 3.  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 September 1, 2011.
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