| 2 | 7 | | |
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| 3 | 8 | | |
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| 4 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 11 | | relating to eligibility to establish a multiple employer welfare |
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| 7 | 12 | | arrangement. |
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| 8 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 846.053, Insurance Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 15 | | amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and |
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| 11 | 16 | | (d-1) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 17 | | (b) The employers in the multiple employer welfare |
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| 13 | 18 | | arrangement must: |
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| 14 | 19 | | (1) be members of an association or group of five or |
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| 15 | 20 | | more businesses that are in the same trade or industry, including |
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| 16 | 21 | | closely related businesses that provide support, services, or |
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| 17 | 22 | | supplies primarily to that trade or industry; or |
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| 18 | 23 | | (2) each have a principal place of business in the same |
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| 19 | 24 | | region that does not exceed the boundaries of this state or the |
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| 20 | 25 | | boundaries of a metropolitan statistical area designated by the |
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| 21 | 26 | | United States Office of Management and Budget. |
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| 22 | 27 | | (c) If the employers in the multiple employer welfare |
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| 23 | 28 | | arrangement are members of an association, the association must[: |
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| 24 | 29 | | [(1)] be engaged in substantial activity for its |
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| 25 | 30 | | members other than sponsorship of an employee welfare benefit |
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| 26 | 31 | | plan[; and |
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| 27 | 32 | | [(2) have been in existence for at least two years |
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| 28 | 33 | | before engaging in any activities relating to providing employee |
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| 29 | 34 | | health benefits to its members]. |
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| 30 | 35 | | (c-1) To determine whether a multiple employer welfare |
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| 31 | 36 | | arrangement is considered a large employer, participating |
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| 32 | 37 | | employees are counted in the aggregate at the level of the multiple |
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| 33 | 38 | | employer welfare arrangement. |
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| 34 | 39 | | (d-1) A working owner of a trade or business without |
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| 35 | 40 | | employees may qualify both as an employer and as an employee of the |
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| 36 | 41 | | trade or industry for the purposes of this section. |
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| 37 | 42 | | SECTION 2. Section 846.053, Insurance Code, as amended by |
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| 38 | 43 | | this Act, applies only to an application for a certificate of |
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| 39 | 44 | | authority as a multiple employer welfare arrangement submitted on |
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| 40 | 45 | | or after January 1, 2020. An application submitted before January |
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| 41 | 46 | | 1, 2020, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the |
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| 42 | 47 | | effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for |
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| 43 | 48 | | that purpose. |
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| 44 | 49 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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