| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Positive | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Relating to the expiration
of licenses for insurance agents and adjusters.
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 1947 changes the laws dealing with the issuance and
renewal of licenses for insurance agents and insurance adjusters. The
legislation does this by redirecting the multiple statutes concerning licensing
into Chapter 4003 of the Insurance Code.
Agents and adjusters that hold multiple licenses will now
have to deal with one renewal date for all of their licenses every two years.
The bill outlines the process for establishing when a person’s multiple licenses
will need to be renewed together.
Lastly, the legislation clarifies
that a licensee is not required to complete additional continuing education
hours if a particular license extends beyond its intended expiration date.
5/27/2015 update:
The Senate committee made changes to this legislation. Specifically the Senate version of the bill includes a section on the consequences of failing to complete continuing education requirements. Although we do not support the added provisions of this legislation, it does not detract from its good qualities. Therefore we still support HB 1947. The Senate chamber sponsor is Senator Van Taylor.
First chamber recommendation:
It is difficult for
Insurance agents or adjusters, who typically hold multiple licenses, to keep all
of their licenses current and in compliance with continuing education
requirements because each license typically has its own renewal date. The
process for renewing one license can be tricky, but having to constantly
navigate this process for multiple licenses is unnecessarily time consuming for
both the licensee and the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), which issues
these licenses.
We support HB 1947 because it streamlines the renewal process for licencees. The streamlined
renewal process means TDI can more efficiently issue licenses. Most
importantly, individuals with multiple licenses will be able to spend less time
managing each license for its own separate renewal date. In other words, this
bill improves the free market while simplifying the government’s regulatory
authority, something that comports with our limited government principle.
In the long run
limiting occupational license requirements and expanding economic freedom are
the best reforms to address these issues. For now, this represents an excellent
step in the right direction.