2012 Vermont Statutes
Title 08 Banking and Insurance
Chapter 138A SURPLUS LINES INSURANCE MULTI-STATE COMPLIANCE COMPACT
§ 5056 Powers of the commission

§ 5056. Powers of the commission

The commission shall have the powers to:

(1) adopt rules and operating procedures, pursuant to section 5059 of this chapter, which shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact;

(2) bring and prosecute legal proceedings or actions in the name of the commission, provided that the standing of any state insurance department to sue or be sued under applicable law shall not be affected;

(3) issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence, provided however, the commission is not empowered to demand or subpoena records or data from non-admitted insurers;

(4) establish and maintain offices including the creation of a clearinghouse for the receipt of premium tax and clearinghouse transaction data regarding non-admitted insurance of multi-state risks, single-state risks for states which elect to require surplus lines licensees to pay premium tax on single state risks through the clearinghouse and tax reporting forms;

(5) purchase and maintain insurance and bonds;

(6) borrow, accept or contract for services of personnel, including, but not limited to, employees of a compacting state or stamping office, pursuant to an open, transparent, objective, competitive process and procedure adopted by the commission;

(7) hire employees, professionals or specialists, and elect or appoint officers, and to fix their compensation, define their duties and give them appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of the compact, and determine their qualifications, pursuant to an open, transparent, objective competitive process and procedure adopted by the commission; and to establish the commission's personnel policies and programs relating to conflicts of interest, rates of compensation and qualifications of personnel, and other related personnel matters;

(8) accept any and all appropriate donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials and services, and to receive, use and dispose of the same; provided that at all times the commission shall avoid any appearance of impropriety and/or conflict of interest;

(9) lease, purchase, accept appropriate gifts or donations of, or otherwise to own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or mixed; provided that at all times the commission shall avoid any appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest;

(10) sell convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property real, personal, or mixed;

(11) provide for tax audit rules and procedures for the compacting states with respect to the allocation of premium taxes, including:

(A) Minimum audit standards, including sampling methods.

(B) Review of internal controls.

(C) Cooperation and sharing of audit responsibilities between compacting states.

(D) Handling of refunds or credits due to overpayments or improper allocation of premium taxes.

(E) Taxpayer records to be reviewed including a minimum retention period.

(F) Authority of compacting states to review, challenge, or re-audit taxpayer records.

(12) enforce compliance by compacting states and contracting states with rules and bylaws pursuant to the authority set forth in section 5065 of this chapter;

(13) provide for dispute resolution among compacting states and contracting states;

(14) advise compacting states and contracting states on tax-related issues relating to insurers, insureds, surplus lines licensees, agents or brokers domiciled or doing business in non-compacting states, consistent with the purposes of this compact;

(15) make available advice and training to those personnel in state stamping offices, state insurance departments or other state departments for record keeping, tax compliance, and tax allocations; and to be a resource for state insurance departments and other state departments;

(16) establish a budget and make expenditures;

(17) borrow money;

(18) appoint and oversee committees, including advisory committees comprised of members, state insurance regulators, state legislators or their representatives, insurance industry and consumer representatives, and such other interested persons as may be designated in this compact and the bylaws;

(19) establish an executive committee of not less than seven nor more than 15 representatives, which shall include officers elected by the commission and such other representatives as provided for herein and determined by the bylaws. Representatives of the executive committee shall serve a one year term. Representatives of the executive committee shall be entitled to one vote each. The executive committee shall have the power to act on behalf of the commission, with the exception of rulemaking, during periods when the commission is not in session. The executive committee shall oversee the day to day activities of the administration of the compact, including the activities of the operations committee created under this section and compliance and enforcement of the provisions of the compact, its bylaws and rules, and such other duties as provided herein and as deemed necessary;

(20) establish an operations committee of not less than seven and not more than 15 representatives to provide analysis, advice, determinations, and recommendations regarding technology, software, and systems integration to be acquired by the commission and to provide analysis, advice, determinations and recommendations regarding the establishment of mandatory rules to be adopted by the commission;

(21) enter into contracts with contracting states so that contracting states can use the services of and fully participate in the clearinghouse subject to the terms and conditions set forth in such contracts;

(22) adopt and use a corporate seal; and

(23) perform such other functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact consistent with the state regulation of the business of insurance. (Added 2011, No. 49, § 1, eff. May 26, 2011.)