Bill Text: WV SB22 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to surcharge on fire and casualty insurance policies for funding volunteer fire departments
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-10 - To Banking and Insurance [SB22 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2021-SB22-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2021 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 22
By Senators Romano, Hamilton, Baldwin, and Jeffries
[Introduced February 10, 2021;
referred
to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §33-3-33 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to surcharge on fire and casualty insurance policies for purpose of funding volunteer fire departments; providing that surcharge be increased to one percent beginning January 1, 2021; and deleting obsolete language.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 3. LICENSING, FEES AND TAXATION OF INSURERS.
§33-3-33. Surcharge on
fire and casualty insurance policies to benefit volunteer and part-volunteer
fire departments; Public Employees Insurance Agency and municipal pension
plans special fund created; allocation of proceeds; effective date.
(a)(1) For the purpose
of providing additional revenue for volunteer fire departments, part-volunteer
fire departments and certain retired teachers and the teachers retirement
reserve fund, there is hereby authorized and imposed on and after July 1, 1992,
on the policyholder of any fire insurance policy or casualty insurance policy
issued by any insurer, authorized or unauthorized, or by any risk retention
group, a policy surcharge equal to one percent of the taxable premium for each
such policy. After June 30, 2005, the surcharge shall be imposed as specified
in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection.
(2) After June 30, 2005, through December 31, 2005,
for the purpose of providing additional revenue for volunteer fire departments,
part-volunteer fire departments and to provide additional revenue to the Public
Employees Insurance Agency and municipal pension plans, there is hereby
authorized and imposed on and after July 1, 2005, on the policyholder of any
fire insurance policy or casualty insurance policy issued by any insurer,
authorized or unauthorized, or by any risk retention group, a policy surcharge
equal to one percent of the taxable premium for each such policy
(3) After December 31, 2005 through December 31, 2021,
for the purpose of providing to provide additional revenue for
volunteer fire departments and part-volunteer fire departments, there is hereby
authorized and imposed on the policyholder of any fire insurance policy or
casualty insurance policy issued by any insurer, authorized or unauthorized, or
by any risk retention group, a policy surcharge equal to 55 one hundredths of
one percent of the taxable premium for each such policy. Beginning
January 1, 2022, the policy surcharge imposed in this subdivision is increased
from 55 one hundredths of one percent to one percent.
(4) (2) For purposes of this section, casualty
insurance may not include insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in
connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction or insurance on a
debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or
other credit transaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the policy.
The policy surcharge may not be subject to premium taxes, agent commissions or
any other assessment against premiums.
(b) The policy surcharge shall be collected and remitted to the commissioner by the insurer, or in the case of surplus lines coverage, by the surplus lines licensee, or if the policy is issued by a risk retention group, by the risk retention group. The amount required to be collected under this section shall be remitted to the commissioner on a quarterly basis on or before the 25th day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter in which they are collected, except for the fourth quarter for which the surcharge shall be remitted on or before March 1 of the succeeding year.
(c) Any person failing or refusing to collect and remit to the commissioner any policy surcharge and whose surcharge payments are not postmarked by the due dates for quarterly filing is liable for a civil penalty of up to $100 for each day of delinquency, to be assessed by the commissioner. The commissioner may suspend the insurer, broker or risk retention group until all surcharge payments and penalties are remitted in full to the commissioner.
(d)(1) All money from the
policy surcharge shall be collected by the commissioner who shall disburse the
money received from the surcharge into a special account in the State Treasury,
designated the Fire Protection Fund. The net proceeds of this portion of the
tax and the interest thereon, after appropriation by the Legislature, shall be
distributed quarterly on the first day of the months of January, April, July,
and October to each volunteer fire company or department on an equal share
basis by the State Treasurer. After June 30, 2005, the money received from
the surcharge shall be distributed as specified in subdivisions (2) and (3) of
this subsection.
(2)(A) After June 30,
2005, through December 31, 2005, all money from the policy surcharge shall be
collected by the commissioner who shall disburse one half of the money received
from the surcharge into the Fire Protection Fund for distribution as provided
in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(B) The remaining
portion of moneys collected shall be transferred into the fund in the State
Treasury of the Public Employees Insurance Agency into which are deposited the
proportionate shares made by agencies of this state of the Public Employees
Insurance Agency costs of those agencies, until November 1, 2005. After the
October 31, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the remaining portion shall be
transferred to the special account in the State Treasury, known as the
Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund.
(3) After December 31,
2005, all money from the policy surcharge shall be collected by the
commissioner who shall disburse all of the money received from the surcharge
into the Fire Protection Fund for distribution as provided in subdivision (1)
of this subsection
(4) (2) Before each distribution date to volunteer
fire companies or departments, the State Fire Marshal shall report to the State
Treasurer the names and addresses of all volunteer and part-volunteer fire
companies and departments within the state which meet the eligibility
requirements established in §8-15-8a of this code.
(e) The allocation, distribution and use of revenues provided in the Fire Protection Fund are subject to §8-15-8a and §8-15-8b of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to restore to one percent the surcharge on fire and casualty insurance policies to fund volunteer fire departments. Obsolete language is removed.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
