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House Business and Labor tables study of Montana State Fund after testimony from insurer
Summary
The House Business and Labor committee voted 11-9 to table House Joint Resolution 68, a study resolution on the Montana State Fund, after the fund’s representative said the study would duplicate existing oversight and members pressed for access to requested data.
Representative Curtis Schomer introduced House Joint Resolution 68, a nonbinding study measure asking the legislature to examine the Montana State Fund, and said he would hear proponents and opponents before the committee reached a conclusion.
Nick Mazanec, testifying on behalf of Montana State Fund, told the committee the resolution was unnecessary. "This study duplicates existing regulatory oversight," Mazanec said, arguing the fund already undergoes statutory audits, market conduct and financial exams, and legislative oversight. He noted the insurer files rate information with the state auditor’s office, recently sought a 5% rate reduction and that Montana State Fund paid $43,000,000 in dividends over the past year.
The core disagreement centered on data access and whether an outside actuarial review was required. Representative Nickel pressed Mazanec on why spreadsheets and actuarial data previously requested by legislators had not been provided and asked whether the fund would supply the raw information rather than hire an outside actuary. Mazanec said State Fund and staff respond to legislative requests and that some prior, very broad requests were narrowed by the legislative audit division because of scope and confidentiality concerns; he added that auditors sometimes use outside actuaries to validate reserve and rate work.
Other committee members questioned language in the resolution’s whereas clauses that cited "numerous lawsuits" and allegations of conflicts of interest. Mazanec said those characterizations were not accurate and pointed members to the Montana Department of Justice for an independent record of litigation. He also emphasized that the fund’s fees and rates are subject to review by the auditor’s office.
After the hearing, the committee moved to executive action. Vice Chair Lynch made a substitute motion to table HJ 68. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the substitute motion to table passed on an 11-9 vote. The chair announced the motion passed and that House Joint Resolution 68 was tabled. The committee adjourned afterward.
The record shows opposition from Montana State Fund emphasizing existing oversight and transparency; proponents of the study said they sought fuller access to data and independent actuarial review. The committee’s tabling leaves the resolution inactive unless it is later recalled or reconsidered.
