Art. 5.40. HEARING OF PROTESTS.  (a)  The Board shall give the public and all insurance companies to be affected by its orders or decisions, reasonable notice thereof, not exceeding thirty (30) days, and an opportunity to appear and be heard with respect to the same;  which notice to the public shall be published in one or more daily papers of the State, and such notice to any insurance company to be affected thereby shall be mailed addressed to the State or general agent of such company, if such address be known to the Board, or if not known, then such letter shall be addressed to some local agent of such company, or if the address of a local agent be unknown to the Board, then by publication in one or more of the daily papers of the State, and the Board shall hear all protests or complaints from any insurance company or any citizen or any city, or town, or village or any commercial or civic organization as to the inadequacy or unreasonableness of any rates fixed by it or approved by it, or as to the inadequacy or unreasonableness of any general basis schedules promulgated by it or the injustice of any order or decision by it, and if any insurance company, or other person, or commercial or civic organization, or any city, town or village, which shall be interested in any such order or decision shall be dissatisfied with any regulation, schedule or rate adopted by such Board, such company or person, commercial or civic organization, city, town or village shall have the right, within thirty (30) days after the making of such regulation or order, or rate, or schedule or within thirty (30) days after hearing above provided for, to bring an action against said Board in the District Court of Travis County to have such regulation or order or schedule or rate vacated or modified;  and shall set forth in a petition therefor the principal grounds of objection to any or all of such regulations, schedules, rates or orders.  In any such suit the issue shall be formed and the controversy tried and determined as in other civil cases.  The court may set aside and vacate or annul any or all or any part of any regulation, schedule, order or rate promulgated or adopted by said Board, which shall be found by the court to be unreasonable, unjust, excessive or inadequate, without disturbing others.  No injunction, interlocutory order or decree suspending or restraining, directly or indirectly, the enforcement of any schedule, rate, order or regulation of said Board shall be granted.  In such suit, the court, by interlocutory order, may authorize the writing and acceptance of fire insurance policies at any rate which in the judgment of court is fair and reasonable, during the pending of such suit, upon condition that the party to such suit in whose favor the said interlocutory order of said court may be, shall execute and file with the Board a good and sufficient bond to be first approved by said court, conditioned that the party giving said bond will abide the final judgment of said court and will pay to the Board whatever difference in the rate of insurance, it may be finally determined to exist between the rates as fixed by the Board complained of in such suit, and the rate finally determined to be fair and reasonable by the court in said suit, and the said Board, when it receives such difference in money, shall transmit the same to the parties entitled thereto.
(b) Whenever any action shall be brought by any company under any provision of this article within said period of thirty (30) days, no penalties nor forfeitures shall attach or accrue on account of the failure of the plaintiff to comply with the orders, schedules, rates or regulations sought to be vacated in such action until the final determination of the same.
(c) Either party to any such action, if dissatisfied with the judgment or decree of said court, may appeal therefrom as in other civil cases.  No action shall be brought in any court of the United States to set aside any orders, rates, schedules or regulations made by said Board under the provisions of this law until all of the remedies provided herein shall have been exhausted by the party complaining.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsections (a)-(c) of this article, on and after the effective date of S.B. No. 14, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, rates for homeowners and residential fire and residential allied lines insurance coverage under this subchapter are determined, and hearings related to those rates are conducted, as provided by Subchapter Q of this chapter, and rates for other lines of insurance subject to this subchapter are determined as provided by Article 5.13-2 of this code, except that on and after December 1, 2004, rates for all lines of insurance subject to this subchapter are determined as provided by Article 5.13-2 of this code.
Acts 1951, 52nd Leg., p. 868, ch. 491.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 242, Sec. 2.35, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;  Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 12, Sec. 8.20, eff. Jan. 1, 1992;  amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 984, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1330, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Subsec. (d) amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 206, Sec. 21.26, eff. June 11, 2003.