Senate Bill 1570
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 (NP) SM 1570
By Senator Burt
16-1665-98 See HM
1 Senate Memorial No.
2 A memorial in support of designating the
3 Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association and
4 the Florida Residential Property & Casualty
5 Joint Underwriting Association as tax-exempt
6 entities under s. 501(c) of the Internal
7 Revenue Code.
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9 WHEREAS, in recent years, catastrophic storms have
10 caused great destruction of property, inflicting billions of
11 dollars of losses upon the residents of the State of Florida,
12 and
13 WHEREAS, many property and casualty insurers, citing
14 the risks associated with catastrophic storms, have sought in
15 recent years to abandon the Florida market and hundreds of
16 thousands of home owners and businesses have been at risk of
17 being unable to purchase the insurance they need to sustain
18 the economic life of their communities, and
19 WHEREAS, the State of Florida has sought to ensure the
20 integrity of its insurance markets, and thus assure the
21 economic health of this state, by establishing two residual
22 market mechanisms, the Florida Windstorm Underwriting
23 Association and the Florida Residential Property and Casualty
24 Joint Underwriting Association, to offer limited property and
25 casualty insurance that may be unavailable on the commercial
26 market, and
27 WHEREAS, the State of Florida has provided that the
28 Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association and the Florida
29 Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting
30 Association be operated on a not-for-profit basis, with no
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1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 (NP) SM 1570
16-1665-98 See HM
1 possibility for private inurement, and for the exclusive
2 purpose of providing a public benefit, and
3 WHEREAS, because of their current federal tax status,
4 neither the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association nor the
5 Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting
6 Association can create and accumulate needed reserves on a
7 tax-free basis for use in future years when a major
8 catastrophe occurs, and
9 WHEREAS, designating the Florida Windstorm Underwriting
10 Association and the Florida Residential Property and Casualty
11 Joint Underwriting Association as tax-exempt will help those
12 entities address the financial exigencies that could be
13 brought on by a catastrophic storm or other major perils by
14 greatly enhancing their ability to accumulate needed reserves,
15 and
16 WHEREAS, the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association
17 and the Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint
18 Underwriting Association merit inclusion under s. 501(c) of
19 the Internal Revenue Code because they each meet the criteria
20 generally posited for tax-exempt status, that is, promotion of
21 a public benefit and prohibition of private inurement, NOW,
22 THEREFORE,
23
24 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 That the Congressional delegation of the State of
27 Florida, the United States Congress, and the President of the
28 United States are respectfully requested to act with all
29 deliberate speed to enact legislation designating the Florida
30 Windstorm Underwriting Association and the Florida Residential
31 Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association as
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 (NP) SM 1570
16-1665-98 See HM
1 tax-exempt entities under s. 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
2 Code.
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