The elephant in the room was finally been revealed last week at the Kansas legislature. The Senate Select Committee on Education Finance and the House K-12 Education Budget Committee received the report commissioned by the legislature by Dr. Lori Taylor. The report can be found at by clicking here.
Now the real discussion regarding the best path to funding K-12 education and the rest of the government functions can begin. Early reports indicate the study supports an additional $600 million for K-12 education. There will be significant pressure to cut government spending in other areas to meet that number. While there does not seem to be the political will to significantly raise taxes this year, it is still being discussed on numerous fronts. There has also been increasing chatter in the hallways regarding the potential for a constitutional amendment.
This week is set to be a slow week for insurance issues. Neither the House or Senate Insurance Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on bills. We are still diligently pressing the House Insurance Committee to consider HB2487, our bill that would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to modify workers' compensation premium rates when they are impacted by non-fault auto accidents. We hope to have news on that this week.
|
|
Article on Earthquake Protection
Earlier this Session we reported on House Bill 2669, would require oil and gas operators of class II injection wells to carry liability insurance coverage for induced seismicity damages. The bill did not receive a hearing and we've been told the issue is not moving this Session. However, interest in the issue continues to receive media attention. Below are some excerpts from a piece that ran on Wichita's NPR station.
Excerpts:
Right in the middle of the heart of Kansas' earthquake problem is the city of Anthony, Kansas. The mayor, Greg Cleveland, also happens to be an insurance agent. "I would have never thought, in my life, that I'd be selling earthquake insurance," he said. "Man, I tell you when those first few hit, I mean, our office just went nuts."
Kansas Corporation Commission put a cap on the amount of wastewater that could be injected into the area. The Kansas Geological Survey has found that since the restrictions went into place in Harper County, the number of detected earthquakes has dropped by more than half. From September 2015 to February 2016 the affected area saw 2,263 earthquakes. During that same period spanning 2016-2017, the number of earthquakes dropped to 668.
|
|
Captive Bill has Hearing in House Insurance
On Thursday, the House Insurance Committee heard the Insurance Department's bill,
Senate Bill 410
,
would create the Captive Insurance Act to update and modernize captive insurance laws. Under current law, the definition of captive insurance company includes any pure captive insurance company or industrial insured captive insurance company formed under existing law. The bill would modify the definition of captive insurance company to mean any pure captive insurance company or association captive insurance company formed under the provisions of this Act.
The KAIA has spent extensive time with the Department about this bill and have no concerns at this point. The bill passed the Senate 38-0 on February 22. We will continue to closely monitor as the bill moves.
|
|
CAT Loss Bill Passes the Senate
House Bill 2469
, the bill dealing with temporary claims facilities following catastrophic loss events, passed out of the full Senate 40-0 on March 14th. The bill allows insurance companies, after notifying the appropriate local units of government, to set up temporary claims facilities without the delay of complying with ordinances and/or procedures governing temporary business facilities. The noncontroversial bill passed the House 123-0. The bill now heads to the Governor.
|
P&C Labor Bill has Hearing in Senate Committee
Senate Bill 362
, a bill that would prohibit property and casualty insurance companies from depreciating labor from certain insurance claims for all policies delivered, issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2019, had a on Wednesday in Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance. A private citizen, whose building was struck by a car, was the sole proponent of the measure. He claimed that his insurance company depreciated the labor related to repair of the damage. Several property and casualty insurers submitted testimony in opposition. They noted that consumers have the option to choose their policy coverage, including choosing between a replacement cost policy and one that pays the actual cash value when the property is damaged. It is our understanding that the Committee will not take action on this bill.
|
Electronic Doc Bill has Hearing in House
On Thursday, the House Insurance Committee held hearings on
SB348
, a bill dealing with the electronic delivery of health insurance documents. The proposal, brought by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, would make electronic delivery the standard method of delivery for certain health benefit plan documents. The insured could request to receive paper documents instead of electronic delivery. Health Insurers, including BCBS of KS, Delta Dental of Kansas and the America's Health Insurance Plans, testified in support of the bill. The Kansas Department of Insurance expressed concern for older Kansans and suggested that an amendment be included that the electronic delivery of the affected documents remain as "opt in" for those over the age of sixty-five. The KAIA will continue to monitor this bill.
|
|
| |
|
Kansas Association of Insurance Agents
815 SW Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, KS 66612
800-229-7048
www.kaia.com
|
|
FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR
Input your home address here to find your local Senator and Representative plus their contact info at the Statehouse.
|
|
CONTRIBUTE
Your Kansas PAC:
|
KAIA Bill Tracker
Click here
for the latest on bills KAIA is tracking.
|
|
|
