Senate hearing on Bill 297 probes solvency, reserve rules for municipal risk pools

Senate Bill 297, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Carson, drew hours of testimony at a joint hearing of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee on changes to the state's rules for pooled risk management programs and how shortfalls would be addressed.

Carson opened the hearing by introducing the measure: “For the record, my name is Sharon Carson ... I have for your consideration this afternoon, senate bill 297, which is relative to pool risk management program,” and said the bill was filed at the request of the Secretary of State after regulators identified “financial and operational issues potentially challenging the solvency of some of the risk pools operating in New Hampshire.”

The bill would add statutory minimum and maximum contingency-reserve corridors for pools, formalize an emergency assessment authority that can be used to replenish reserves quickly, clarify several definitions, and require certain disclosures. Supporters said the changes are designed to prevent insolvencies that could ultimately leave public employers and taxpayers on the hook for unpaid claims; opponents said the measures risk shifting liability to municipalities and school districts and impose an impractical short timetable for assessments.

Why this matters: Pooled risk programs are member-owned organizations through which political subdivisions jointly self-insure for health, property, casualty and workers' compensation coverages. Witnesses told the committees that some pools have carried sustained deficits, and that…