Sec. 154.208.  ADVISORY COMMITTEE.  (a)  The commissioner shall appoint an advisory committee to review and make recommendations regarding the technical procedures and processes employed by the department to regulate insurance-funded prepaid funeral benefits and monitor compliance of sellers of insurance-funded contracts under this chapter, including recommendations relating to:
(1)  the relevance and usefulness of records that the department requires a seller to maintain for examination purposes;
(2)  the existence and identification of any specific record that an insurance company is required to maintain and produce under the Insurance Code that could be substituted as a record that meets the objectives and requirements of the department under this chapter;
(3)  the scope, efficiency, and effectiveness of examination procedures employed by the department to verify compliance with this chapter; and
(4)  any other matter submitted to the committee by the commissioner.
(b)  The advisory committee is composed of eight members appointed by the commissioner as follows:
(1)  two representatives of the department;
(2)  two representatives of funeral providers that actively sell and service insurance-funded contracts in this state; and
(3)  four representatives of permit holders that actively sell insurance-funded contracts in this state, provided that representation should be reasonably balanced to include permit holders that sell for domestic insurance companies, foreign insurance companies, small insurance companies, and large insurance companies.
(c)  At the request of the commissioner, the commissioner of insurance may appoint a representative of the Texas Department of Insurance to serve on the advisory committee.
(d)  Not later than the 30th day after the date all of the initial appointments to the advisory committee have been made, the advisory committee shall meet and select a presiding officer.  After the initial meeting, the advisory committee shall meet as necessary at the call of the commissioner.
(e)  A member of the advisory committee serves without compensation.  If authorized by the commissioner, a member of the advisory committee is entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in attending committee meetings.
(f)  A recommendation of the advisory committee does not supersede the regulatory authority of the commissioner or the rulemaking authority of the commission under this chapter.  The commissioner shall notify the commission of each recommendation of the advisory committee and the reasons for the recommendation.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1190 (H.B. 3762), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2009.