Relating to the funding mechanism for the regulation of workers' compensation and workers' compensation insurance; authorizing surcharges.
Summary
SB 1455 revises how Texas funds the regulation of workers’ compensation and workers’ compensation insurance. The bill replaces much of the existing “maintenance tax” terminology with “surcharge” terminology and updates the Insurance Code and Labor Code provisions governing who pays these charges, how rates are set, when they are due, and how they are collected and deposited. It applies to authorized insurers, certified self-insurers, and self-insurance groups involved in the workers’ compensation system.
The bill authorizes the commissioner of insurance to set annual surcharge rates for the costs of administering workers’ compensation programs, supporting fraud prosecution, and funding related division and research functions. It also preserves the ability of insurers to recover these surcharges from policyholders through rate filings or direct charging. The measure caps the combined surcharge rates tied to workers’ compensation funding at 2.7 percent of gross premiums subject to surcharge, and it provides rules for late rate-setting, refunds, and additional amounts due if the rate is certified after assessment.
Impact
SB 1455 amends multiple sections of the Insurance Code and Labor Code to reframe and reorganize the funding structure for workers’ compensation regulation. It changes deposit and administration provisions for the Texas Department of Insurance operating account, clarifies the comptroller’s role in collecting and enforcing these charges, and updates the funding formulas for the Division of Workers’ Compensation, the Office of Injured Employee Counsel, fraud prosecution, and self-insurance oversight. The bill applies prospectively to reporting periods beginning on or after its effective date, January 1, 2026, leaving prior-period taxes governed by existing law.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received generally favorable legislative support, passing the Senate 27-4 and the House 134-11 with two present not voting. The vote margins suggest broad agreement on the need to update and clarify the funding mechanism for workers’ compensation regulation. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate detailed public sentiment beyond the voting record.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are the shift from a maintenance tax framework to a surcharge framework, the authority to set annual rates, and the extent to which insurers may pass these costs through to policyholders. The bill also increases or restates funding obligations for multiple parts of the workers’ compensation system, including fraud enforcement and self-insurance oversight, which could raise concerns among insurers and self-insured groups about cost and administrative burden. The recorded no votes likely reflect objections to one or more of these funding and pass-through provisions, though no transcript is available to identify specific arguments.
To Amend The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan; And To Revise The Reporting Requirements For The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan.
Codifies certain regulations of the workers' compensation board relating to access to prescription medication and coordination with workers' compensation board regulations governing network pharmacy use; requires the workers' compensation board to file a report on out-of-network pharmacy use within 3 years of the effective date.
Relating to funding of excess losses and operating expenses of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association; authorizing an assessment; authorizing a surcharge.
Increases the mandatory surcharge and the crime victim's assistance fee which is levied upon any person convicted of a crime or violation in this state; creates a crime victim's lien which allows such recovery against a convicted offender in the amount of the unpaid portion of the mandatory surcharge or the crime victim's assistance fee; creates a crime victim's assistance account.