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Committee reviews bill to remove certain commissioner reporting requirements and simplify definition of ‘person’ in enforcement statute
Summary
House Bill 2048 would eliminate two specified reporting requirements that currently require the insurance commissioner to report to the governor and would shorten a long statutory list of entities covered by the insurance enforcement statute by using a general phrase. The department described the changes as housekeeping.
House Bill 2048 was presented to the House Insurance Committee. The bill would (1) eliminate two statutorily required reports that the commissioner previously was required to send to the governor and (2) streamline the statutory definition of “person” in the insurance enforcement statute by replacing a long enumerated list of entities with a catch‑all phrase.
Why it matters: The department characterized the bill as cleanup to reduce obsolete reporting requirements and to avoid frequent statutory changes when the department’s regulatory scope shifts. The department told the committee one of the obsolete reports dates to 1993 and that the commissioner’s annual report is posted on the department website; the department also emphasized the commissioner is an elected official and not appointed by the governor.
Eric Turek of the Kansas Insurance Department said the change is “purely cleanup” and that the proposed definition (“and any other legal entity under the jurisdiction of the commissioner”) avoids repeated statutory revisions when regulators add or remove regulated categories. The department noted automobile clubs have not been regulated for several years and that removing the enumeration avoids stale references.
Committee members had no substantive objections at the hearing; no opponents testified in person. The committee closed the hearing on HB 2048 and will consider drafting or amendment in subsequent committee action.
Ending: The bill was presented as statutory housekeeping; the committee did not take a recorded vote at the hearing.
