MINUTES
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS & COMMERCE
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
9:00 a.m.
Capitol Extension, Room E1.036
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Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule
11.18, a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Business &
Commerce was held on Wednesday, September 4, 2002, in the
Capitol Extension, Room E1.036, at Austin, Texas.
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MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Troy Fraser, Acting Chairman None
Senator John Carona
Senator Mike Jackson
Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.
Senator Frank Madla
Senator Eliot Shapleigh
Senator Leticia Van de Putte
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Chairman Fraser called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. There
being a quorum present, the following business was transacted.
Senators Kip Averitt and Rodney Ellis were also present and
participated in the hearing.
The Chairman welcomed everyone, and explained the procedure
planned for the meeting. The committee would begin with the
issue of credit scoring which would take most of the morning.
Then after a brief lunch break, the committee would hear invited
testimony on mold, mold-related claims, and how it has affected
the homeowners insurance market.
Chairman Fraser then called Credit Scoring Panel 1 from the
Texas Department of Insurance to present background on the
issue. The panelists were:
Brian Ryder, Property and Casualty,
Audrey Selden, Consumer Protection,
David Durden, Director, Government Relations, and
Catherine Reyer, Legal & Compliance, Enforcement.
Following testimony by Panel 1 and their response to members'
questions, the Chairman called Credit Scoring Panel 2 to present
testimony from the consumers' perspective. Panelists were:
Juan Chapa, Corpus Christi, and
Kathryn Perry, Wimberly.
The third panel, Consumer Advocates, were called to testify as
follows:
Birny Birnbaum, Austin, member of Florida Task Force on
Credit Scoring,
D. J. Powers, Center for Economic Justice,
Rod Bordelon, Office of Public Insurance Counsel, and
Rob Schneider, Consumers Union.
Panel 4, presenting the Industry Perspective on Credit Scoring,
were:
Eddy Lo, representing Fair, Issac,
Jeffrey Skelton, representing Choice Point,
Denise Ruggiero, representing State Farm,
Dean Lamb, representing Allstate,
Lee Ann Alexander, representing Liberty Mutual, and
William Graves, representing Progressive County Mutual.
At 1:40 p.m., Chairman Fraser moved that the committee stand
recessed for a brief lunch break; without objection, it was so
ordered.
At 2:10 p.m., the committee reconvened. The Chairman advised
that invited testimony would commence on the mold issue, and
called Jose Montemayor, Commissioner, Texas Department of
Insurance, to present testimony on Mold Claims and Impact on
Homeowners Rates.
Following Commissioner Montemayor's testimony and response to
members' questions, Chairman Fraser called Panel 2 to testify on
Mold Claims Handling Processes. The panelists were:
Susan Dayberry, homeowner, Royse City,
Tom Archer, homeowner, Austin, and
Audrey Selden, Texas Department of Insurance.
The Chairman then called Panel 3 to testify on Mold Litigation;
panelists were as follows:
Todd Hunter, attorney, Corpus Christi, and
Bruce Mery, attorney, San Antonio.
Panel 4 was then called to present testimony on the Role of
Remediators and Need for Standards. Panelists were:
Kyle Dotson, Certified Industrial Hygienist, Houston,
Bob Allen, International Association of Mold Remediation
Specialists, Fort Worth, and
Claren Kotrla, Texas Department of Health.
Panel 5 presented testimony on the Role of Public Adjusters and
Need for Licensing. Witnesses were as follows:
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS & COMMERCE
Minutes
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
page 3
Jerry Edler, independent adjuster, San Antonio,
Jim Beneke, public adjuster, Austin, and
James Rader, Supreme Court Unauthorized Practice of Law
Committee, Austin.
Chairman Fraser then called Panel 6 to present testimony on Mold
Standards. The panelists were:
Dr. Robert Emery, University of Texas at Houston Health
Science Center,
Keller Thormahlen, Texas Department of Health, and
Mike Miller, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dallas.
The final panel was called to testify on the effect of mold on
home sales. Panelists were:
Bill Stinson, Texas Association of Realtors, Austin,
Joe Farr, Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, Austin, and
Mickie Comiskey, Focus Insurance and Financial Services,
Houston.
There being no further business, at 5:12 p.m. Chairman Fraser
moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of
the chairman. Without objection, it was so ordered.
______________________________
Senator Troy Fraser, Chairman
______________________________
Barbara Henderson, Clerk