Texas Insurance Code Title 5, Chapter 501 - Office Of Public Insurance Counsel

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 501.001 - Definition
  In this chapter, "office" means the office of public insurance counsel. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2005.
• Texas Section 501.002 - Office Of Public Insurance Counsel
  The independent office of public insurance counsel represents the interests of insurance consumers in this state. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec....
• Texas Section 501.003 - Sunset Provision
  The office is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the office is abolished...
• Texas Section 501.004 - Public Interest Information
  (a) The office shall prepare information of public interest describing the functions of the office. (b) The office shall make the information available to the...

SUBCHAPTER B PUBLIC COUNSEL

• Texas Section 501.005 - Access To Programs And Facilities
  (a) The office shall prepare and maintain a written plan that describes how a person who does not speak English can be provided reasonable access...
• Texas Section 501.051 - Appointment; Term
  (a) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a public counsel to serve as the executive director of the office....
• Texas Section 501.052 - Qualifications
  To be eligible to serve as public counsel, a person must: (1) be licensed to practice law in this state; (2) have demonstrated a strong...
• Texas Section 501.053 - Business Interest; Service As Public Counsel
  A person is not eligible for appointment as public counsel if the person or the person's spouse: (1) is employed by or participates in the...
• Texas Section 501.054 - Lobbying Activities
  A person may not serve as public counsel or act as general counsel to the office if the person is required to register as a...
• Texas Section 501.055 - Grounds For Removal
  (a) It is a ground for removal from office if the public counsel: (1) does not have at the time of appointment or maintain during...

SUBCHAPTER C PERSONNEL

• Texas Section 501.056 - Prohibited Representation Or Employment
  A former public counsel may not represent any person or receive compensation for services rendered on behalf of any person regarding a case pending before...
• Texas Section 501.101 - Office Personnel
  (a) The public counsel shall employ professional, technical, and other employees necessary to implement this chapter. (b) Compensation for an employee shall be set under...
• Texas Section 501.102 - Trade Associations
  (a) In this section, "trade association" means a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined association of business or professional competitors designed to assist its members and...
• Texas Section 501.103 - Career Ladder Program; Performance Evaluations
  (a) The public counsel or the public counsel's designee shall develop an intra-agency career ladder program. The program must require intra-agency posting of all nonentry...
• Texas Section 501.104 - Equal Employment Opportunity Policy; Report
  (a) The public counsel or the public counsel's designee shall prepare and maintain a written policy statement to ensure implementation of an equal employment opportunity...

SUBCHAPTER D POWERS AND DUTIES

• Texas Section 501.105 - Qualifications And Standards Of Conduct
  The office shall provide to the public counsel and office employees, as often as necessary, information regarding their: (1) qualifications for office or employment under...
• Texas Section 501.151 - Powers And Duties Of Office
  The office: (1) may assess the impact of insurance rates, rules, and forms on insurance consumers in this state; and (2) shall advocate in the...
• Texas Section 501.152 - Administration Of Office
  The public counsel shall administer and enforce this chapter, including preparing and submitting to the legislature a budget for the office and approving expenditures for...
• Texas Section 501.153 - Authority To Appear, Intervene, Or Initiate
  The public counsel: (1) may appear or intervene, as a party or otherwise, as a matter of right before the commissioner or department on behalf...
• Texas Section 501.154 - Access To Information
  The public counsel: (1) is entitled to the same access as a party, other than department staff, to department records available in a proceeding before...
• Texas Section 501.155 - Recommendation Of Legislation
  The public counsel may recommend legislation to the legislature that the public counsel determines would positively affect the interests of insurance consumers. Added by Acts...
• Texas Section 501.156 - Consumer Bill Of Rights
  The public counsel shall submit to the department for adoption a consumer bill of rights appropriate to each personal line of insurance regulated by the...
• Texas Section 501.157 - Prohibited Interventions Or Appearances
  The public counsel may not intervene or appear in: (1) any proceeding or hearing before the commissioner or department, or any other proceeding, that relates...
• Texas Section 501.158 - Confidentiality Requirements
  Confidentiality requirements applicable to examination reports under Sections 401.105 and 401.106 and to the commissioner under Section 441.201 apply to the public counsel. Added by...
• Texas Section 501.159 - Comments On Certain Insurer Filings
  (a) Notwithstanding this chapter, the office may submit written comments to the commissioner and otherwise participate regarding individual insurer filings made under Chapters 2251 and...

SUBCHAPTER E ASSESSMENTS

• Texas Section 501.160 - Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures
  (a) The office shall develop and implement a policy to encourage the use of appropriate alternative dispute resolution procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to...
• Texas Section 501.201 - Office Expenses
  Expenses of the office shall be paid from the assessments collected under this subchapter. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff....
• Texas Section 501.202 - Assessment
  To defray the costs of operating the office, the comptroller shall collect assessments under this subchapter annually in connection with the collection of other taxes...
• Texas Section 501.203 - Assessment On Property And Casualty Insurers
  Each property and casualty insurer authorized to engage in business in this state shall pay an annual assessment of 5.7 cents for each property and...
• Texas Section 501.204 - Assessment On Life, Health, And Accident Insurers And Related Entities
  (a) This section applies to each insurer authorized to engage in business in this state under: (1) Chapter 841; (2) Chapter 842; (3) Section 1367.053,...

SUBCHAPTER F DUTIES RELATING TO HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS

• Texas Section 501.205 - Assessment On Title Insurance Companies
  Each title insurance company authorized to engage in business in this state shall pay an annual assessment of 5.7 cents for each owner and mortgage...
• Texas Section 501.251 - Comparison Of Health Maintenance Organizations
  (a) The office shall develop and implement a system to compare and evaluate, on an objective basis, the quality of care provided by and the...
• Texas Section 501.252 - Annual Consumer Report Cards
  (a) The office shall develop and issue annual consumer report cards that identify and compare, on an objective basis, health maintenance organizations in this state....
• Texas Section 501.253 - Access To Information
  (a) The office is entitled to information that is confidential under a law of this state, including Section 843.006 of this code, Chapter 108, Health...
• Texas Section 501.254 - Confidentiality And Use Of Information
  (a) Except as provided by this section, information collected under this subchapter is subject to Chapter 552, Government Code, and the office shall make determinations...

Last modified: September 28, 2016