Comité Insurance de la Cámara de Representantes, 19 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

139 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:13:21

   Yeah, how you doing?

2. 0:13:21

   Doing well, thank you.

3. 0:13:24

   Good morning.

4. 0:13:25

   Morning.

5. 0:13:26

   I couldn't get there earlier. I said I'd probably get here probably a little later.

6. 0:13:28

   Nice of y'all to let me be seated.

7. 0:13:30

   That early?

8. 0:13:31

   3:30. I said, "3:30 a.m. we could get." 'Cause I got a meeting at 3:00, but I tried to finish.

9. 0:13:55

   Hey.

10. 0:13:55

    Good morning, Carolyn. How are you? Good morning. How is everybody? All good. Hope you are. See you.

11. 0:14:04

    Good morning. We'll try to get this meeting going. Uh, all right. Well, welcome to the, uh, Full House Insurance Committee. We have, uh, several bills before us today, but before we get started, I'm going to, uh, ask our, uh, vice chair, uh, and, uh, ethics chair, Buddy Deloach, if he would, to, uh, open us with a word of prayer.

12. 0:14:29

    What's this say?

13. 0:14:30

    Let us pray.

14. 0:14:31

    You're 21.

15. 0:14:32

    21.

16. 0:14:33

    There you go.

17. 0:14:34

    Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we invoke your blessings on this meeting this morning, and we pray that what we say and do here may be pleasing to you. Amen.

18. 0:14:44

    Amen.

19. 0:14:48

    Amen. I, I have some department bills, two department bills that I have. I believe Matt Reeves has one department bill, and we have the study committee bill. I'm going to go ahead with the, um, um, House Bill 1262 and 1263, which are department bills I'm carrying, and I'm gonna turn that over to Buddy Deloach.

20. 0:15:10

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh,

21. 0:15:15

    you gonna do 1263 first?

22. 0:15:20

    I can do them in whichever order you prefer.

23. 0:15:22

    Let's do that.

24. 0:15:23

    All right, sir.

25. 0:15:24

    And you're recognized for the purpose of explaining your bill, Mr. Chairman.

26. 0:15:29

    Thank you, s- Mr. Chairman. Bring to you House Bill 1263. Uh, we're working from LC520958. Uh, as I mentioned, this is a, a Department of Insurance bill. This legislation addresses the timeframe within which an insurance company may, uh, amend their, um, um, premium tax, uh, from a previous year. You know, when an insurer, uh, issues a policy, it collects a premium tax and remits that tax to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

27. 0:16:06

    Now, under current law, there's no statutory look-back period, uh, governing amendments to prior, uh, premium tax filings. So as a result, insurers may retroactively review filings from any number of years and seek refunds from, for overpayments. House Bill 1263 establishes a clear and reasonable limitation by capping that look-back period at three years, which is consistent with the standard three-year amendment window applicable to individual income tax filers. Now, this problem came to light back in fiscal year 2025 when a, um, single company conducted a seven-year retrospective review and filed for a refund of over $142 million.

28. 0:16:46

    S- that unanticipated liability created significant disruption to the state budget and to broader fiscal planning. So the intent of this bill is not to prohibit insurers from correcting prior filings or seeking legitimate refunds, rather it provides certain and predictability, certainty and predictability by setting a devi- uh, defined statutory boundary by aligning the premium tax amendment period with the common tax administration practice, uh, the, so the state can better manage revenue forecasting and avoid substantial unexpected refund obligations.

29. 0:17:18

    That, Mr. Chairman, is the bill. If you're looking at the, um, bill itself, the, uh, only, uh, change you'll see to existing law is 14, 15, lines 14, 15, and 16, which just establishes that three-year look-back period. That's the bill, and I'll be glad to answer any questions.

30. 0:17:35

    Thanks, sir. Members of the committee, you have questions for the author of the bill? I hear none. This bill's been through the subcommittee process where we took public comment, so there'll be none of that today, but we're now in a position to take a motion.

31. 0:17:49

    So moved.

32. 0:17:50

    Second.

33. 0:17:51

    Got move and a second. Due pass. Any discussion? Any amendments? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye, those opposed no.

34. 0:18:03

    Aye.

35. 0:18:03

    Any noes? Bill has passed. It's on its way to Rules.

36. 0:18:08

    Okay.

37. 0:18:09

    Now we'll go to 1262.

38. 0:18:14

    Chair Lady Taylor, did you have something? Yeah. Okay. All right. 1262. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Um, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I bring to you, uh, House Bill 1262, working from LC520959. Um, this legislation, as I said, brought at the request of the Department of Insurance, addresses the insurance commissioner's statutory authority to levy fines against insurance companies that violate certain provisions of state law.

39. 0:18:45

    Specifically, it applies to four areas, mental health parity enforcement, general fining authority, surprise billing violations, and prepaid legal service plans. Under current law, the, uh, commissioner may impose a fine of up to $2,000 for a know- for an unknowing violation and up to $5,000 for a knowing violation. However, those amounts have remained unchanged for decades. The $2,000 cap has not been adjusted in more than 15 years, and the $5,000 cap has not been updated in over 30 years.

40. 0:19:18

    While those penalties may once have represented a meaningful deterrent, inflation and market growth have significantly eroded their impact. In the interim, the General Assembly has enacted important consumer protection measures, including mental health parity, uh, requirements and surprise billing protections. Yet the underlying fine structure's not been modernized to reflect the seriousness of these obligations or the scale of today's insurance market. House Bill 1262 updates those penalties to ensure they serve as an effective enforcement tool rather than simply a cost of doing business.

41. 0:19:53

    The bill increases the maximum fine for unknowing violations from 2,000 to 10,000, and for knowing violations from 5,000 to 25,000. This legislation does not create new violations or expand regulatory scope. It strengthens the commissioner's ability to ensure compliance with existing law and to hold companies accountable when they knowingly and intentionally disregard their legal obligations. Mr. Chairman, that's the bill. I have, um, Bryce Rawson from the Department of Insurance available if there are any technical questions, and I'll be glad to answer any that you might have.

42. 0:20:30

    Members of the committee, you have questions? I hear none. Since it's been through the committee, subcommittee process, there's no public comment.

43. 0:20:42

    I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've got... I'm sorry. I've got...

44. 0:20:45

    I recognize Chairman Williams for a question.

45. 0:20:49

    Can you tell me exactly on the pre- what is the penalty on, like, a prepaid legal service?

46. 0:20:55

    There are four categories. As I said, the prepaid legal service is one of the categories in which they have the fines for. I'll defer to, um, Bryce Rawson, if he would step to the mic, if he can probably answer that for you a little more in depth.

47. 0:21:08

    I just never, I never see those in the industry.

48. 0:21:11

    Which, let's see. Probably in mine. There you go.

49. 0:21:14

    Yes, sir. Uh, m- Bryce Rawson, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office. Uh, sir, may I ask if you could clarify your, your question just slightly? Are you asking i- in-

50. 0:21:24

    I, I just ask, what is, what is in co- I mean, I understand the prepaid legal is you have an attorney, but what kind of fees? I mean, what, what would we be charging on the prepaid legal service is all I'm asking. What is the penalty? I understand surprise billing. Well, that has to do with insurance. And I understand what decline in mental health parity, I understand that. But on the prepaid legal, what, what are we, what are we fining the companies for? That's all I'm asking.

51. 0:21:50

    So if there was a... There could be a general violation by just one of these companies in and of itself. Uh, well, and frankly, I'm not sure when, uh, this Section w- 33-5-7 was put into law. But whenever there is a specific enumeration of when there is a violation, uh, we have to go in and change those. Uh, so that is why that number did go from, it looks like just 2,000 to 10,000, um, the same as we have done through the rest of code section. Uh, I'm not sure if I have a, a specific example for you today, sir.

52. 0:22:23

    We can talk offline. That's fine.

53. 0:22:24

    We, we can, yes.

54. 0:22:24

    I just, just... I'm sorry. I was asking the question.

55. 0:22:26

    That, that may be a, a more specific, uh, nuanced, uh-

56. 0:22:30

    Okay

57. 0:22:30

    ... type of business we can talk later.

58. 0:22:31

    We can talk later. Thank you.

59. 0:22:32

    Yes, sir.

60. 0:22:32

    Thank you for that explanation. Any other questions from committee members? We're ready for a motion. I have a due pass. Is there a second? Second. Second. Any further discussion? Amendments? Vote. Those in favor say, "Aye." Aye. Those opposed, "No." The ayes have it. Mr. Chairman, your second bill is in rules.

61. 0:22:59

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

62. 0:23:04

    All right. Moving on, we have, um, Representative Reeves. Um, you have two bills, I believe.

63. 0:23:20

    1274. Okay.

64. 0:23:22

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, uh, fellow members of the House Insurance Committee. I present to you House Bill 1274. This bill was requested-

65. 0:23:30

    LC 529007.

66. 0:23:32

    That's right. No changes since the original filing. Uh, this bill was requested by Insurance Commissioner John King in response to, uh, multiple people testifying at our insurance, uh, rate study committee saying, "I wish there's some way to have a mechanism that when insurance companies are profiting and making good money, that they pass those savings on to customers." Insurance Commissioner King found a Florida statute that is also used by several other states, where, uh, if you have a rate filing with an anticipated profit, uh, uh, stated in that rate filing, and that is a line item on the rate filings.

67. 0:24:09

    If, uh, the company exceeds the anticipated profit for three consecutive years by 5% or more, they are mandated to file a rate, uh, decrease, and they would also, you know, be subject to other actions by the insurance commissioner. In Florida, that resulted, uh, in a billion dollars, uh, just by, from one company, uh, in the way of reductions for, uh, auto insurance customers in Florida. And in talking to some folks after this was presented at the subcommittee yesterday, the idea behind this is to tell insurance companies, "Be conservative on your expected profit line item on the rate filings, and that'll pass on savings to the customers quicker." So it's not just the penalty, it's also at the time of the rate filings, passing those savings on to the customers.

68. 0:24:57

    Um, as you heard yesterday, 10 companies have cut their rates in the last few months in Georgia. Two companies have entered the market. We wanna turbocharge those savings to auto insurance customers. I heard from the DDS, uh, commissioner this week, there are over 9.1 million driver's licenses in Georgia, so we wanna get more people insured with affordable insurance, and this bill does that.

69. 0:25:21

    All right. I believe we have a question. Uh, who's 27? Williamson. Re- Representative Williamson.

70. 0:25:29

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the author of the bill, I, I applaud the efforts of this bill. But can you remind me when the last time the Georgia insurance companies exceeded their profits by more than 5%?

71. 0:25:38

    For three straight years.

72. 0:25:39

    For three straight years.

73. 0:25:40

    That's been a while.

74. 0:25:41

    It, it, it, it sort of speaks to the problem. There has been problems for the industry making a profit. But I do applaud this bill because if, if somebody says that they're gonna, uh, compete in Georgia, follow all the rules, and then exceed their profits by more than 5%, then th- this is a good bill. But I do wanna point out for the benefit of the audience, it is, is... has not happened in a very long time.

75. 0:26:06

    That's right. We heard from UGA, Georgia State, University of South Carolina insurance schools. They present a lot of data on auto insurance. We have a lot of wrecks in Georgia. We have a lot of uninsured motorists in Georgia. Uh, we have a lot of challenges. But despite all that, based on good legislation, they are cutting rates right now and entering our market. We wanna keep that going.

76. 0:26:25

    Thank you for your leadership.

77. 0:26:28

    Any other questions?

78. 0:26:32

    Any comments from the committee? Hearing none, seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

79. 0:26:39

    So moved.

80. 0:26:40

    Motion do pass. Do I have a second? All in favor say aye.

81. 0:26:45

    Aye.

82. 0:26:45

    All opposed like sign. Thank you. I believe that, uh, passes that bill. If you want to move on to, uh, your next bill, which is 1344.

83. 0:26:57

    1344.

84. 0:26:58

    Yes, sir.

85. 0:26:59

    Thank you, Chairman Lumsden and members of the committee. Uh, this is House Bill 1344, the Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act. Uh, this bill represents hard work by the Georgia House across the state and across the aisle to make insurance more affordable for hard-working Georgians. I'd like to thank Speaker Burns for appointing the, uh, House Blue Ribbon Study Committee on Insurance Rates. Uh, I'd like to thank the members who served on that. Raise your hand if you were one of the members on that committee. Thank y'all for traveling around the state. Uh, thank Leader Hugley for planning a meeting in Columbus that, uh, unfortunately was canceled due to Chair Lady Mandi Ballinger's death.

86. 0:27:35

    But really appreciate Aflac and Columbus State and Leader Hugley for planning that meeting in Columbus. But we heard from folks in Macon, Savannah, Gwinnett County, here at the State Capitol, about, uh, rate issues and claims issues, and that is what is in this bill. Uh, touching on some of the subjects, uh, in this bill, we have, uh, an increase in nearly 40 additional fines in addition to the ones that were in Chairman Lumsden's, uh, bill from Insurance Commissioner King a few minutes ago, uh, to hold companies accountable when there are violations of the law and policies.

87. 0:28:09

    That'll make our claims, uh, run more smoothly and quickly. It strengthens the enforcement of uninsured motorist laws. We heard testimony in the committee that about 20% of our drivers are uninsured. And, uh, from both affordability and compliance, uh, we need to make that better so that hardworking people who pay insurance bills are not paying for other folks who, uh, are violating the law. It includes Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones' excluded driver bill, which has been heard, uh, last year and this year. And with her permission, we added that in there.

88. 0:28:41

    What that does is you can exclude drivers, um, in, in, uh, consultation with your insurance company. But if you exclude a driver and get the benefit of a lower premium by excluding a driver, you don't give them the keys and give them the car, whether it's your family or your business. Uh, if somebody's an excluded driver, they're gonna be classified as an uninsured motorist if they take the keys and drive. So that's one more uninsured motorist, um, measure that, uh, appreciate the Speaker Pro Tem identifying. And, um, I have two kids in college, and, you know, the insurance companies make you, make those kids say they can't give the keys in the car to their roommate.

89. 0:29:17

    Well, if they do, they're gonna be an uninsured motorist, not, uh, a permissive driver. It cracks down on insurance fraud. I appreciate Leader Hugley walking through some of the insurance fraud measures at the committee hearing yesterday, as well as, um, her support on the bill and work on the study committee. Uh, we have a letter today which, um, you may have received from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. They support this bill, and they say that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. There are organized, uh, insurance fraud rings, such as staged accidents.

90. 0:29:50

    That's addressed in this bill, and we crack down on insurance fraud. It links the, uh, insurance commissioner with the Department of Eco- Economic Development to recruit and retain insurance company headquarters in Georgia. Uh, we got to visit Primerica when we were at the Gwinnett County meeting. That's a great, uh, headquarters there. Uh, State Farm has a major office in Dunwoody and previously in Sandy Springs. Of course, Aflac has great headquarters in Columbus. And, uh, having more of those in Georgia by the insurance commissioner working with Economic Development is something included in this bill.

91. 0:30:26

    Uh, local, uh, premium tax insurance payments. This puts some parameters around that, encouraging the locals to get out there and use that money to help their residents cut insurance premiums and cost and get, um, mitigate claims. And speaking of that, the Fortified Homes program, which is working well in other states, um, it implements that in Georgia. Uh, it actually expands it in Georgia. We have it on the books, uh, but the insurance commissioner is ready to work to expand that. That helps senior citizens and other people in need shore up their roofs and other components of their house so that it's less, uh, uh, vulnerable to storms and floods and things like that.

92. 0:31:06

    It's working well in other states to mitigate home insurance claims. And it tightens up Georgia law about claims processing in the event of storms, tornadoes, the ice storm like we had a few weeks ago, and other catastrophes with mass claims. Hurricane Helene was our Hurricane Katrina, biggest insurance event ever in the state. As difficult as, as that was for many people across Georgia, we did a better job in Georgia than we did with Hurricane Michael, and this bill will make it better on, in the next storm with claims processing procedures. So that's an overview of the bill.

93. 0:31:38

    This is designed to continue rates going down. and make claims processing better for customers. And, uh, looking around the country, we looked at all the good ideas we could find. We put as many as we could in this bill, real world, um, measures that are helping customers around the country, and this has it, and it'll, uh, make insurance more affordable for our constituents. Thank you.

94. 0:32:00

    Thank you. Do have a couple of questions here. Uh, Representative Gamble.

95. 0:32:06

    Chairman, thank you for coming today and all the work you put in on this bill. I appreciate you allowing my constituents to come and participate in your hearing in, uh, Gwinnett back in December. Um, Frankie Johnson from Styles Auto Care in Cartersville, and, um, he really appreciated the opportunity to share. My question in- or just a clarification on the uninsured motorist part, just to make sure that I understand how we're gonna do this going forward. But, um, if my father came over and borrowed my car because his car was in the shop, is he now uninsured motorist, or tell me how that would work.

96. 0:32:44

    No, he's a permissive driver. Uh, that doesn't change. But if your dad lived with you, let's say he had, um, you know, some start of dementia, and he lives with you, and he had had three wrecks. And you go to your insurance agent and say, "You know, here's all the people in my household." And they say, "Gosh, you can cut your bill in half if you make your dad an excluded driver," and you turn in his name, his date of birth. You and your dad sign that form like my son did with his college roommates.

97. 0:33:13

    Mm-hmm.

98. 0:33:13

    That's how you exclude a driver, so your premium goes down. You're signing paperwork saying he doesn't get to drive. But if you give him the keys and, and he drives, uh, and then, you know, gets pulled over or otherwise gets caught, uh, uh, as an unexclu- or as an excluded driver, he will be designated as an uninsured motorist and will get a ticket and will have those, uh, penalties.

99. 0:33:37

    So if I had a recently licensed 16-year-old that was given a car that was in my name and had coverage under my name, but we just hadn't added her to the policy yet, would she be-

100. 0:33:49

     No

101. 0:33:50

     ... an uninsured motorist?

102. 0:33:51

     Excluded driver is a form you file-

103. 0:33:53

     Okay

104. 0:33:53

     ... and it's, it's, it's a knowing policy provision with paperwork. So-

105. 0:33:57

     All right. Th- thank you for clarifying.

106. 0:33:59

     And what, what Speaker Pro Tem Jones found is that it's, it's now a noticeable phenomenon. You know, when insurance rates went up and people would go shop their policy around, and somebody would say, "Gosh, you know, the bill in your household's due to, you know, your spouse or, uh, somebody." Or, or with a business, they would say, "Yeah, this guy's got, uh, a ba- a bad record," and then you exclude them as a driver and fill out the paperwork to do that, and you get the benefit of a lower premium. But you give them the keys and the car anyway, that's the problem.

107. 0:34:31

     And so we're cracking down on that. We're saying they are an uninsured motorist, and they're gonna get a ticket if they get pulled over.

108. 0:34:39

     All right. Chairman DeLoach.

109. 0:34:42

     One, one quick question. I also want to talk to you about the excluded driver. I make a deal with the insurance company to exclude a driver in my household. I allow that person to drive my car, and they go out, and they cause damage to a third party. Are you telling me that, that I can make a deal with my insurance company to take away the rights of the injured third party?

110. 0:35:13

     No. No. What, what's happening is, that, and that's, that's the reason Speaker Pro Tem brought this bill, one of the reasons. It enhances and enlarges the number of uninsured motorist claims when people do this. Uh, those drivers, they need to be insured on your, on your policy. You don't need to push them on as an uninsured motorist claim to a third party. So, um, it basically is saying, if you are turning somebody into an uninsured motorist by filling out the excluded motorist form and getting the benefit on your policy of a lower premium, uh, that is not permissible to push them onto somebody else's uninsured motorist policy.

111. 0:35:54

     One more if I may.

112. 0:35:55

     Yes, sir.

113. 0:35:56

     So that third party can, can sue the owner of the vehicle and, and therefore sue the insurance company?

114. 0:36:04

     Well, uh, they can. Here's the way it would work, and this is something, uh, we've seen, and this is the reason to get more people insured. All the stress happens in car accident law through uninsured motorist claims. If you have two people who are uninsured, you know, that's, you know, a public, uh, expense. If you have one who's insured and the other who is not insured, and you have a wreck, and it's not covered under the insured's, uh, policy, it goes into the uninsured motorist component, uh, and that's where you have that.

115. 0:36:37

     If you have two people who are insured, the insurance companies can, can work it out. But if y- if you have somebody who is an excluded motorist on the policy, you are pushing them onto the other person's uninsured motorist policy, and that's, that's why our uninsured motorist premiums have gone up in Georgia. This puts a stop to that. This says they need to be insured, or you need to tell them, "You can't drive right now. You know, y- you, you need to either be insured or not drive." You don't need to carve them out on your policy and push them onto, uh, your neighbor's uninsured motorist policy.

116. 0:37:15

     Thank you.

117. 0:37:17

     Representative Davis.

118. 0:37:21

     Thank you, Chairman. My question, I want to know, are we monitoring by zip code, uh, any problems, be it fraud or anything else, that may be con- concentrated within certain zip codes as well as when it comes to pricing insurance? Is it a fair market price, or is it escalated in certain areas, in certain zip codes? And if it is, uh-

119. 0:37:51

     the reason why. Is that anywhere in this bill or is that something we are planning to address? Um, both from underwriting and from regulation, I believe there are some issues that bear on that. We got the insurance department here if, if you'd like to talk to that and if anybody from the industry wants to talk to that. But that is a question of underwriting as well as statistics with the department.

120. 0:38:18

     Uh, again, thank you, uh, madam. Uh, my name is Bryce Rawson, Director of Legislative Affairs for Georgia Insurance Commissioner, John King. Uh, to answer your question, uh, for on the fraud aspect of it, uh, we actually do have our CID agents. They are stationed all across the state. Uh, there's about 35 of them. Uh, so it, that, that is a vast area for them to cover, but they are working with our local sheriffs, uh, uh, and our local county officials, uh, on prosecuting insurance fraud and developing these cases. Uh, so I'm not sure if we have it specifically by ZIP Code, but, uh, I think we, we will have some information, uh, from those agents on, uh, cases that are, that are in those areas of investigation.

121. 0:38:54

     Uh, in regards to the rating and underwriting question, uh, ZIP Code level data, uh, it is used, um, by insurance companies currently. That, that is allowed by law. Uh, and frankly, when you, when you take a look at, uh, ZIP Codes close to the, the city of Atlanta, uh, there's, there's likely more accidents than, than places down, uh, you know, in Valdosta and Albany. Uh, so that, that is currently allowed by law at this point. And I, uh, and if I may point out, those two companies that enter the market, they enter the whole state. And then those 10 companies who've cut the rates, they cut it for the whole state.

122. 0:39:24

     Okay. And one follow-up. Is, is that information public or can we as elected officials, uh, solicit that information? I will have to double check. Yeah, there, there is a, a, a variety of information that, that companies do use. Uh, w- when you get into the underwriting rating systems, uh, we have to be a little bit careful about that because, uh, some of that information is protected. Uh, so I'll be happy to verify that with our team with you, ma'am.

123. 0:39:52

     Representative Hawkins. Chairman Hawkins. Yeah. When you're, uh, removing somebody from your policy, that's typically go- gonna be a, a relative, right? So- Or employee. Okay. Uh, or employee. When you remove this person and th- and they do drive without insurance, which they probably will, is that l- gonna come back on you as a legal problem? Are, are you, could the, uh, person not at fault in the, in the accident turn around and, and sue you for damages?

124. 0:40:28

     That's, that's a good question. What this bill does with the excluded drivers is mainly classify them as an uninsured motorist for the traditional ticketing of uninsured motorists. That's the focus on that. So I don't think this bill goes into the, the big picture of legal claims and all that. It's, it's a uninsured motorist compliance issue. We want more people to, to get insurance, and they're gonna be subject to being ticketed just like an uninsured motorist. Got that. But do you anticipate legal action in that direction and then the cost of insurance going up for those folks?

125. 0:41:02

     I, I am a, a lawyer, uh- I know ... but as, as a lawyer legislator, I would say that's pretty close to fraud. If, if you were benefiting financially by- Filling out the forms ... filling out a form, um- Taking your child off. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that, that's close. I mean, that's- Yeah ... uh, that's serious. Right. But, but here's the thing. Uninsured motorists in that committee, of, of everything we discussed, constituents got that. They said, "Thank you," 'cause I, I've had the same car for 10 or 15 years. I hadn't had any wrecks or tickets.

126. 0:41:33

     Right. I'm paying for somebody else. And, and that's true. Right, right. We got two million people without car insurance, and they need to follow the law. Yeah. We're gonna make insurance more affordable, but we need people to, to follow the law for the sake of the seven million people who are working hard and paying their bills. So I guess the question then would be moot b- because the owner of the car yourself w- say you, you told your 18-year-old, "You're, you're through driving my car because you're not being careful," then you would be, uh, essentially immune since you have made it clear that, that that child could not drive your car, and if he did so, would, would be doing it without your knowledge.

127. 0:42:13

     Not, not immune, but what you're doing is you were taking them off of your policy- Right ... and you were putting them onto somebody else's uninsured motorist coverage. Right. And I think that presents larger problems. This is sort of a new issue. All right. We're nipping it in the bud through this bill. Right. Okay. Thank you.

128. 0:42:32

     Um, Representative Williamson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Representative Reeves, is it not true that we've had, and, and I, I defer to Leader, uh, Hugley's, uh, uh, experience as an active insurance agent, but have we not had, uh, the ability to exclude drivers for a number of years? And this just is gonna make it more transparent- That's right ... as I understand it, that the d- uh, the d- department of driver services will be able to electronically, um, um, list that this, this is an excluded driver.

129. 0:43:07

     So at, at a scene of an accident, a law enforcement officer could, would, be, have access to the information that, yes, this car has insurance, but there is an excluded driver on this policy, and it could be a commercial policy. Um, and, and, and Sam Jones is an excluded driver. If in fact he or she, the law enforcement, uh, personnel on scene sees that Sam Jones is the driver of this vehicle, it would be, uh, caught immediately and not through further, uh, uh, down the line of the claims process.

130. 0:43:37

     Is that not true? Couldn't have explained it better myself. So, so we're really, we're really, uh, providing more transparency, clarity, and immediacy to the fact that there was an un- uninsured driver, uh, involved in the accident. That's right. I think the system is called the GEEX system. That's kind of a funny name, uh, with the, uh, d- uh, Department of Revenue, uh, DMV. Sounds like a Georgia Tech product, but- That's right. That's right. Uh, um, it's, it's my understanding that, uh, somebody on the committee had a, had a situation this year where somebody, uh, caused damage.

131. 0:44:08

     They ran into a building.

132. 0:44:10

     Um, the initial check had them as insured, but, you know, when you go to, to look at it, uh, there were some problems with this. This puts more information in the system about excluded drivers. Uh, Representative Tarvin.

133. 0:44:30

     How's that? Uh, I know we got another bill, so I won't, but I had to get this. You know that you are probably at the top of the list of people in the House to me, uh, for the profession you're in. And, uh- What profession? You, you, I just want a clarification, and I know, I know we're in a hurry, we got another bill, but you talked about the blue ribbon committee, and I, I wanna tell you, I followed some of that, and I know how hard you guys worked and... But you said y'all looked all over the country and got the best ideas. Now, uh, can we rest assured you didn't get any bad ideas in this bill?

134. 0:45:06

     Um- You're, you're under oath. Uh, you know, uh, the, uh, I was touring some kids from Suwannee around the capital the other day, and Thomas Jefferson was there. One of my favorite sayings of his is, "If you give me more time, I can make it shorter." And, uh, this, this bill, uh, is shorter than the first draft. Uh, difference in bronze, silver, and gold is amount of refinement. So I wanna thank the members of the committee- Thank you ... for the process. This is good. Thank, thank you. Good solid bill. At the proper time, I'd like to make a motion. Well, I don't see any other questions. Are there any other comments before we entertain a motion?

135. 0:45:40

     Do pass. We have a motion do pass. And a second. All in favor say, "Aye." Aye. All opposed, like sign. Your bill passes. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you. And the person you were talking about relative to the accident in the building, I have a little insight on that.

136. 0:46:00

     We'll get him covered next time. All right, thank you. Thank you. We have one more bill. Um, Representative Mathiak, would you come to the podium? See, I believe we have, uh, House Bill 170. Now, this bill was, um, heard last year by this committee, passed out of this committee, went on to the House, just didn't make it, uh, through crossover. So, uh, we're bringing it back. So if you would please, um, uh, give us the, um, bill number and the, uh, LC number, and explain your bill.

137. 0:46:30

     Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair, and, um, I really appreciate you giving me the laterality this morning. Thank you so much. The LC number is 520621. And like you said, this is, this is, uh, we have made no changes to this. This is really an insurance transparency bill. And in light of what we've heard over the last two days about with our, um, blue ribbon bill, this, this is transparent and accountability for insurance companies to, if the, um, providers need, um, the EOBs to, to shore up, that they can, the provider is able to get the EOB that the patient gets.

138. 0:47:15

     And really, that's the, the crux of the whole bill, so that our, um, providers have good information. Very good. You've heard the bill. Are there any questions? Comments? Seeing no questions or comments, I will, um, entertain a motion. Chair, I move do pass. We have a do pass. Second? Second. All in favor say, "Aye." Aye. All opposed. Very good. Thank you. Thank you, committee, and thank you, Mr.

139. 0:47:46

     Chair. So appreciate it. All right, that concludes our agenda for today. Thank you for being here. We are adjourned.