Florida Senate - 2009                                    SB 1138
       
       
       
       By Senator Gaetz
       
       
       
       
       4-00830A-09                                           20091138__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to self-insurance funds; creating s.
    3         624.4626, F.S.; authorizing any two or more electric
    4         cooperatives to operate a self-insurance fund for
    5         certain purposes; providing for membership in the
    6         fund; requiring that the fund fulfill certain
    7         criteria; providing for the applicability of certain
    8         assessments and certain provisions of state law to
    9         such a fund; amending s. 631.904, F.S.; exempting
   10         certain self-insurance funds from specified provisions
   11         of state law; providing an effective date.
   12         
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14         
   15         Section 1. Section 624.4626, Florida Statutes, is created
   16  to read:
   17         624.4626 Electric cooperative self-insurance funds.—
   18         (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any two or
   19  more electric cooperatives organized pursuant to chapter 425 may
   20  operate a self-insurance fund for the purpose of pooling and
   21  spreading liabilities of group members in securing the payment
   22  of benefits under chapter 440. A self-insurance fund established
   23  under this section must:
   24         (a) Require that every member of the fund be jointly and
   25  severally liable for the obligations of the fund;
   26         (b) Maintain a continuing program of excess insurance
   27  coverage and reserve evaluation to protect the financial
   28  stability of the fund in an amount and manner determined by a
   29  qualified and independent actuary;
   30         (c) Subscribe to, or be a member of, a rating organization
   31  as prescribed in s. 627.231;
   32         (d) Employ an independent certified public accountant to
   33  complete an audit of its fiscal year-end financial statement
   34  within 6 months after the end of the fiscal year;
   35         (e) Have a governing body comprised of a representative
   36  from each member of the fund;
   37         (f) Limit membership in the fund to electric cooperatives
   38  operating in this state, their subsidiaries, and the current
   39  members of the Florida Rural Electric Self-Insurer’s Fund; and
   40         (g) Provide members of the fund, at renewal, a disclosure
   41  statement notifying the members that the fund is not regulated
   42  by the Office of insurance Regulation.
   43         (2) A self-insurance fund meeting the requirements of this
   44  section is subject to the assessments set forth in s.
   45  624.4621(7), but is not subject to any other provision of s.
   46  624.4621 and is not required to file any report with the
   47  department under s. 440.38(2)(b) which is uniquely required of
   48  group self-insurer funds qualified under s. 624.4621.
   49         Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 631.904, Florida
   50  Statutes, is amended to read:
   51         631.904 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
   52         (6) “Self-insurance fund” means a group self-insurance fund
   53  authorized under s. 624.4621, a commercial self-insurance fund
   54  writing workers' compensation insurance authorized under s.
   55  624.462, or an assessable mutual insurer authorized under s.
   56  628.6011. For purposes of this act, “self-insurance fund” does
   57  not include a qualified local government self-insurance fund, as
   58  defined in s. 624.4622, an independent educational institution
   59  self-insurance fund as defined in s. 624.4623, an electric
   60  cooperative self-insurance fund as defined in s. 624.4626, or an
   61  individual self-insurer as defined in s. 440.385.
   62         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.