2000 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 396 – Insurance Refund Acct/deposits/amt

HOUSE BILL NO. 396

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Daily Data Tracking History



H0396........................................................by MR. SPEAKER
    Requested by:  Department of Insurance
INSURANCE REFUND ACCOUNT - Amends existing law to allow for deposits to the
Insurance Refund Account by the director of the Department of Insurance of
up to twenty percent of taxes, fines and penalties as needed to meet
current refund obligations.
                                                                        
01/17    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
    Rpt prt - to Bus
02/10    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/11    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/14    3rd rdg - PASSED - 67-0-3
      AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe,
      Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase, Cheirrett, Clark, Crow, Cuddy,
      Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Gould, Hadley,
      Hammond, Hansen(23), Hansen(29), Henbest, Jaquet, Jones, Judd,
      Kellogg, Kempton, Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Loertscher, Mader, Marley,
      McKague, Meyer, Montgomery, Mortensen, Moss, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner,
      Pomeroy, Reynolds, Ridinger, Ringo, Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman,
      Shepherd, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone, Taylor, Tilman,
      Trail(Miller), Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Geddes, Hornbeck, Linford
    Floor Sponsor - Taylor
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/15    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Com/HuRes
03/08    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/09    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/21    3rd rdg - PASSED - 33-0-2
      AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
      Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes,
      Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King-Barrutia, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh,
      Parry, Riggs, Risch, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne,
      Wheeler, Whitworth, Williams
      NAYS--None
      Absent and excused--Richardson, Sandy
    Floor Sponsor - McLaughlin
    Title apvd - to House
03/22    To enrol
03/23    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/24    Pres signed
03/27    To Governor
03/29    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 64
         Effective: 03/29/00

Bill Text


 H0396
                                                                        
  ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
 Fifty-fifth Legislature                  Second Regular Session - 2000
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 396
                                                                        
                                       BY MR. SPEAKER
                           Requested by: Department of Insurance
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE; AMENDING SECTION 41-406, IDAHO  CODE,
  3        TO ALLOW FOR DEPOSITS TO THE INSURANCE REFUND ACCOUNT OF UP TO TWENTY PER-
  4        CENT  OF TAXES, FINES AND PENALTIES AS NEEDED TO MEET CURRENT REFUND OBLI-
  5        GATIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
                                                                        
  6    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  7        SECTION 1.  That Section 41-406, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
  8    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  9        41-406.  DEPOSIT  AND REPORT OF FEES, LICENSES AND TAXES. (1) The director
 10    shall transmit all taxes, fines and penalties collected by him  to  the  state
 11    treasurer  as  provided  under section 59-1014, Idaho Code. The director shall
 12    file with the state controller a statement of each deposit thus made. All such
 13    funds received shall be deposited into the department  of  insurance  suspense
 14    account.
 15        Such funds shall be distributed as follows:
 16        (a)  Ten  percent  (10%) shall be deposited The director may deposit up to
 17        twenty percent (20%) of the funds received in the insurance refund account
 18        which is hereby created for the purpose of repaying  overpayments  of  any
 19        taxes,  fines,  and penalties or other erroneous receipts. There is hereby
 20        appropriated out of the insurance refund account so much thereof as  shall
 21        be  necessary for the payment of refunds. Any unencumbered balance remain-
 22        ing in the insurance refund account on June 30 of each and every  year  in
 23        excess  of  forty  thousand  dollars ($40,000) shall be transferred to the
 24        general account and the state controller is hereby authorized and directed
 25        on such dates to make such transfers unless the board of examiners,  which
 26        is  hereby  authorized to do so, changes the date of transfer or sum to be
 27        transferred.
 28        (b)  That portion of the premium  tax,  payable  to  the  public  employee
 29        retirement  account  as  provided in section 59-1394, Idaho Code, shall be
 30        distributed to that account.
 31        (c)  That portion of the premium tax  necessary  to  cover  administrative
 32        costs  incurred  by  the  department in placing insurance companies or any
 33        other insurance entities into receivership or under administrative  super-
 34        vision, and such costs cannot be satisfied from the assets of these compa-
 35        nies  or entities, shall be distributed to the insurance insolvency admin-
 36        istrative account which is hereby created. There  is  hereby  appropriated
 37        out  of the insurance insolvency administrative account so much thereof as
 38        shall be necessary,  but  not  to  exceed  two  hundred  thousand  dollars
 39        ($200,000) in any one (1) fiscal year, for the payment of the department's
 40        administrative  expenses  incurred  in  carrying out such receiverships or
 41        supervisions. A balance of one hundred thousand dollars  ($100,000)  shall
 42        be maintained in this account on June 30 of each year.
 43        (d)  The balance of the premium tax, fines and penalties shall be distrib-
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1        uted to the general account of the state of Idaho.
  2        (e)  All moneys received for fees, licenses and miscellaneous charges col-
  3        lected shall be distributed to the insurance administrative account.
  4        (2)  The  director  shall make and file with the state controller an item-
  5    ized statement of the fees, licenses, taxes, fines and penalties collected  by
  6    him  during  the  preceding  month,  and shall deliver a certified copy of the
  7    statement to the state treasurer.
                                                                        
  8        SECTION 2.  An emergency existing  therefor,  which  emergency  is  hereby
  9    declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
 10    passage and approval.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                            RS09382
Idaho Code  41-406(1)(a) requires that ten percent (10%) of the taxes,
fines and penalties the Department of Insurance collects be deposited in
the Insurance Refund Account to be used to repay overpayments.  In recent
years, the 10% set aside has not provided sufficient funding to meet the
State's obligation to refund overpayments.  As a result of this
deficiency, current year obligations are pushed into subsequent years. 
The proposed legislation would allow the Director of the Department of
Insurance to increase the amount set aside to meet refund obligations in
order to address the continuing deficiency and make certain that refund
obligations are met on a timely basis.  The Director could set aside up
to 20% of taxes, fines and penalties to fund the Insurance Refund
Account.  The law requires that any unencumbered balance in excess of
$40,000 in the Refund Account as of June 30 each year be transferred to
the general fund.

                         FISCAL IMPACT
It is expected that increasing the amount of revenues going into the
Refund Account from 10% to the 20% maximum would enable the State to
become current on its insurance refund obligations during FY 2001.  This
would decrease revenue paid into the general fund by approximately
$3,100,000 in FY 2000.  If the legislation is not adopted, this amount
will represent a liability of the State of Idaho that will continue to
be carried forward into subsequent years.


CONTACT
Name:          Bob Murphy
Agency:   Department of Insurance
Phone:    208-334-4250

Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact                           H0396