Senate Bill No. 511
(By Senators Wooton and Minard, By Request)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to to amend and reenact section three, article two,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
employment of legal counsel by the insurance commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article two, chapter thirty-three of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
§33-2-3. Duties of the commissioner; employment of legal
counsel.
(a) The commissioner shall enforce the provisions of this
chapter and perform the duties required thereunder; shall affix
the commissioner's official seal to all documents and papers
required to be filed in other states by domestic insurers and to
other papers when an official seal is required; and shall, on or
before the tenth day of each month, pay into the state treasuryall fees and moneys which he or she has received during the
preceding calendar month.
(b) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, the commissioner may acquire such legal services as are
deemed necessary, including representation of the commissioner
before any court or administrative body. Such counsel may be
employed either on a salaried basis or on a reasonable fee basis.
In addition, the commissioner may call upon the attorney general
for legal assistance and representation as provided by law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove discretionary
authority of the insurance commissioner to retain outside
counsel. Under current state law, the Insurance Commissioner is
the only state officer with independent statutory authority to
retain counsel outside the Attorney General's office.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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