By: Shine H.B. No. 2461
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the workers' compensation group self-insurance
guaranty fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 407A, Subchapter B, Labor Code is
amended by adding new Section 407A.0521 to read as follows:
Sec. 407A.0521. NEW CERTIFICATES OF APPROVAL PROHIBITED.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 407A.052, the commissioner shall not
issue a certificate of approval to a proposed group on or after
September 1, 2023.
(b) Nothing in this section affects the commissioner's
authority to amend a certificate of approval issued by the
commissioner to a group prior to September 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. Section 407A.456 Labor Code is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 407A.456. PLAN OF OPERATION. (a) The board shall
adopt a plan of operation governing the board's activities and the
operation of the guaranty fund and the trust fund.
(b) The plan of operation adopted by the board is subject to
approval by the commissioner.
(c) The board shall submit a revised plan of operation to
the commissioner for approval to wind down the operations of the
guaranty fund and the trust fund, including a plan for distribution
of any remaining funds to qualified groups. For the purpose of this
chapter, a "qualified group" is a group that has a current
certificate of approval under this chapter and has not been
determined by the commissioner to be insolvent under Sections
407A.355 and 407A.458, Labor Code.
(d) The commissioner shall approve the revised plan of
operation if the plan sufficiently describes the steps the board
will take to wind down and dissolve the operations of the guaranty
fund and trust fund, including distributing any remaining trust
funds to qualified groups, notifying interested parties, and
estimating a timeline for wind down.
(e) The board shall deliver written notice to the
commissioner not later than 30th day after the date the wind down is
complete.
(f) Not later than the 30th day after the date the
commissioner receives the notice described in Subsection (e), the
commissioner shall issue an order determining whether the guaranty
fund has met its obligations under the revised plan of operations
described in Subsection (d). If the commissioner determines that
the guaranty fund has met its obligations, the order shall include
language requiring the distribution of any remaining funds to
qualified groups.
(g) On the 30th day after the issuance of the order
described in subsection (f), the guaranty fund and the trust fund
are dissolved.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2023, the board
shall submit a revised plan of operation to the commissioner of
insurance as required by Section 407A.456, Labor Code.
(b) The board of directors established under Section
407A.453, Labor Code, is abolished on the date the guaranty fund and
trust fund are dissolved in accordance with Section 407A.456.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.