HBA-DMH H.B. 1466 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1466 By: Maxey Insurance 8/8/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The 76th Legislature passed House Bill 1627 to prohibit competitive bids from stop-loss insurers from containing any qualifications that permit insurers to modify or limit terms of insurance after the contract is made. The legislation had the unexpected effect of limiting choices by reducing the number of bids submitted to the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool by stop-loss insurers. House Bill 1466 authorizes municipalities to waive certain bidding requirements in favor of the insurer. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1466 amends the Insurance Code to authorize a municipality to execute a written waiver in favor of an insurer to waive the bidding requirements for an insurer who contracts with a municipality to provide stop-loss or other insurance coverage. With regard to health benefit insurance, the municipality is authorized to make such a waiver of requirements regarding the assignment of a higher deductible to an individual. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.