Committee hears agency-request bill to clean up insurance statutes, debate on public-records exemption

The Consumer Protection & Business Committee heard Substitute Senate Bill 5,262 March 25, an agency-request bill from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to correct obsolete statutory references, remove defunct reporting requirements and reconcile state law with recent federal changes to essential health benefits.

Peter Clodfelter, committee staff, described SSB 5,262 as largely technical updates and maintenance to the insurance code, noting one substantive difference from a prior House companion: the Senate version retained a provision that ‘‘due consideration in making motor vehicle insurance rates must be given to any anticipated change in losses attributable to the use of anti-theft devices, lights including rear stop lights and seat belts,’’ that the House bill had removed. Clotfelter summarized a range of changes including…