Governor Reappoints Mattax as Insurance Commissioner
From the Governor’s office:“Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed David Mattax as the Commissioner of Insurance for a term to expire February 1, 2019.

David Mattax of Austin has served as Commissioner of Insurance since January 12, 2015. Previously, he served as deputy attorney general for defense litigation, past director of defense litigation, and past chief of the financial litigation division for the Texas Attorney General's Office. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice before the Texas Federal District courts, Fourth and Fifth Circuit U.S. courts of Appeal and U.S. Supreme Court. He is past co-chair of the Amos Commission, and a past board of trustees member of University United Methodist Church. Mattax received a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and a Juris Doctor from The University of Texas at Austin.”

Possible Language to Address TDI’s Concerns in UCP Model Draft
TALHI has drafted the following language to address TDI’s concern about the UCP Model bill. ACLI staff has reviewed the language and thinks the provision should work fine. Unless we hear objections from TALHI members, we will share this language with TDI as a possible solution to their concerns:

Add language to the end of Sec. 1109.011 of the bill to state, in effect, “All subsequent comparisons shall include all in-force life insurance policies as well as any life insurance policies that have lapsed since the previous comparison.”

Will Davis Resolution
Representative Smithee has had a House Concurrent Resolution drafted honoring Will Davis. Senator Watson is sponsoring the Senate Concurrent Resolution. When we are notified that the resolution will be heard on the House and Senate floor we will let the membership know. Texas House and Senate sessions can be viewed online.

TDI Notice of Public Hearing
The commissioner of insurance will hold a public hearing under Docket No. 2798, at 9:30 a.m., Central Time, on February 15, 2017, in Room 100 of the William P. Hobby Jr. State Office Building, 333 Guadalupe St., Austin, Texas 78701, to receive written and oral comments on proposed changes to 28 TAC Chapter 3, Subchapter X, Division 1, §3.3705, relating to Nature of Communications with Insureds; Readability, Mandatory Disclosure Requirements, and Plan Designations. This hearing is scheduled in response to a request made under Government Code §2001.029.

The proposed changes in §3.3705 restore subsections inadvertently omitted from the order adopting amendments to another subsection of the section. To correct the error, §3.3705 must be amended to restore the inadvertently omitted subsections.

Legislative Forum & Lobby Day a Success
Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2017 Legislative Forum & Lobby Day a success, including our sponsors State Farm, AIG, Aflac, and American Fidelity. Attendees should have received an email earlier this week with a link to the event survey; if you have not already done so, please take a moment to give us your feedback.

Go Mobile for the Legislative Session
The TALHI mobile app puts important information for the legislative sessions at your fingertips. The same content housed on the “Members Only” section of the website, which includes bill tracking reports, bill and TDI rule drafts, TALHI policy positions, and more, is available under “Info & Docs” on the TALHI Home Page portion of the app. And don’t forget the app includes the entire TALHI member directory as well – if you ever need a phone number or email address of a fellow member, you can find it there. If you need help downloading and setting up the app on your phone or tablet, view our Quick Start guide or full User Guide here.

Next Member Call
The next member call will be held Wednesday, February 8, at 10 am Central. To dial in, call 1-888-537-7715 and use passcode 333-456-777#. The agenda will be posted by Tuesday in the website and mobile app.

Calendar

February 8, 2017, 10 am Central
TALHI Member Call

September 24-26, 2017
TALHI Round Up, Austin Four Seasons

Jennifer Cawley
Executive Director
(512) 651-3573 (Direct)
(512) 656-2850 (Mobile)
(512) 472-6886 (Main)