INSURANCE CODE
CHAPTER 33. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
§ 33.001. APPLICATION OF LAW RELATING TO ETHICAL
CONDUCT. The commissioner and each employee or agent of the
department is subject to the code of ethics and the standard of
conduct imposed by Chapter 572, Government Code, and any other law
regulating the ethical conduct of state officers and employees.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.002. INSURANCE BUSINESS INTEREST; SERVICE AS
COMMISSIONER. (a) A person is not eligible for appointment as
commissioner if the person, the person's spouse, or any other
person who resides in the same household as the person:
(1) is registered, certified, or licensed by the
department;
(2) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving funds from the department;
(3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
organization regulated by or receiving funds from the department;
or
(4) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or funds from the department, other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law.
(b) A person is not eligible for appointment as commissioner
if the person:
(1) is a stockholder, director, officer, attorney,
agent, or employee of an insurance company, insurance agent,
insurance broker, or insurance adjuster; or
(2) is directly or indirectly interested in a business
described by Subdivision (1).
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to:
(1) a person solely because the person is insured by an
insurer or is the beneficiary of insurance; or
(2) a person who:
(A) is appointed as a receiver, liquidator,
supervisor, or conservator of an insurer; or
(B) is an employee of a receiver, liquidator,
supervisor, or conservator of an insurer with respect to duties
under that employment.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.003. INSURANCE BUSINESS INTEREST;
EMPLOYEE. (a) A person who is a director, officer, attorney,
agent, or employee of an insurance company, insurance agent,
insurance broker, or insurance adjuster may not be employed by the
department.
(b) A person who resides in the same household as a person
who is an officer, managerial employee, or paid consultant in the
insurance industry may not be employed in an exempt salary position
as defined by the General Appropriations Act.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.004. TRADE ASSOCIATIONS. (a) A person who is an
officer, employee, or paid consultant of a trade association in the
field of insurance may not be:
(1) the commissioner; or
(2) an employee of the department who is exempt from
the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or
above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for
step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary
schedule.
(b) A person who is the spouse of an officer, manager, or
paid consultant of a trade association in the field of insurance may
not be:
(1) the commissioner; or
(2) an employee of the department who is exempt from
the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or
above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for
step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary
schedule.
(c) In this section, "trade association" means a nonprofit,
cooperative, and voluntarily joined association of business or
professional competitors designed to assist its members and its
industry or profession in dealing with mutual business or
professional problems and in promoting their common interest.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.005. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. A person may not serve
as the commissioner or act as the general counsel to the
commissioner if the person is required to register as a lobbyist
under Chapter 305, Government Code, because of the person's
activities for compensation on behalf of a profession related to
the operation of the department.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.006. FORMER SERVICE. A person may not serve as the
commissioner if the person served as a member of the State Board of
Insurance.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.007. PROHIBITED REPRESENTATION. (a) A person who
served as the commissioner, the general counsel to the
commissioner, or the public insurance counsel, or as an employee of
the State Office of Administrative Hearings who was involved in
hearing cases under this code or another insurance law of this
state, commits an offense if the person represents another person
in a matter before the department or receives compensation for
services performed on behalf of another person regarding a matter
pending before the department during the one-year period after the
date the person ceased to be the commissioner, the general counsel
to the commissioner, the public insurance counsel, or an employee
of the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
(b) A person who served as a member of the State Board of
Insurance or as a staff employee of a member of the State Board of
Insurance, or who served as the commissioner, the general counsel
to the commissioner, or the public insurance counsel or as an
employee of the department or the State Office of Administrative
Hearings, commits an offense if, after the person ceased to serve,
the person represents another person or receives compensation for
services performed on behalf of another person regarding a matter
with which the person was directly concerned during the person's
service. For purposes of this subsection, a person was directly
concerned with a matter if the person had personal involvement with
the matter or if the matter was within the scope of the person's
official responsibility.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) This section does not apply to a department employee
whose position is eliminated as a direct result of a reduction in
the department's workforce.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 101, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
