Senate Bill sb0264

    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 264

    By Senator Geller





    31-342-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to insurance regulation;

  3         creating s. 20.131, F.S.; recreating a

  4         Department of Insurance; providing for its head

  5         to be the Insurance Commissioner; providing for

  6         assistants and deputies; providing for internal

  7         organization; assigning duties to the Division

  8         of Insurance Fraud; providing a contingent

  9         effective date.

10  

11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

12  

13         Section 1.  Section 20.131, Florida Statutes, is

14  created to read:

15         20.131  Department of Insurance.--There is created a

16  Department of Insurance.

17         (1)  The head of the Department of Insurance is the

18  Insurance Commissioner.

19         (2)  The following divisions of the Department of

20  Insurance are established:

21         (a)  Division of Insurance Regulation.

22         (b)  Division of Insurance Consumer Services.

23         (c)  Division of Agents and Agencies Services.

24         (d)  Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation.

25         (e)  Division of Risk Management.

26         (f)  Division of State Fire Marshal.

27         (g)  Division of Insurance Fraud.

28         (h)  Division of Administration.

29         (i)  Division of Funeral and Cemetery Services.

30         (j)  Division of Legal Services.

31         (k)  Division of Workers' Compensation.

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 264
    31-342-07




 1         (3)(a)  The department shall have an assistant

 2  insurance commissioner, three deputies, and a general counsel.

 3  A deputy may also serve as general counsel.

 4         (b)  The Division of Insurance Regulation shall have at

 5  least two deputy directors.  All other divisions shall have a

 6  director and may have an assistant director.  The department

 7  may change the name of any division, by rule, if the name

 8  reflects the respective subject area of the division.

 9         (4)  The Division of Insurance Fraud shall enforce s.

10  626.989.  The division shall establish a Bureau of Workers'

11  Compensation Insurance Fraud for the sole purpose of enforcing

12  the provisions of chapter 440 which, if violated, would result

13  in the commission of fraudulent insurance acts.

14         (5)  A Bureau of Financial and Support Services is

15  created within the Division of Administration.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect January 6, 2009,

17  except that it shall not take effect unless SJR _____ or

18  similar legislation creating the office of Insurance

19  Commissioner is adopted at the 2007 Regular Session of the

20  Legislature or an extension thereof and is approved by the

21  electors.

22  

23            *****************************************

24                          SENATE SUMMARY

25    Creates a Department of Insurance, the head of which will
      be the Insurance Commissioner, conditioned upon the
26    electors' approval of a proposed constitutional amendment
      creating the office of Insurance Commissioner.
27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.