MEWA Bill Introduced in Texas Legislature

Bill Title: Relating to eligibility to establish a multiple employer welfare arrangement.


Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2021-03-24 – Referred to Business & Commerce [SB1471 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB1471-Introduced.html

87R5802 RDS-F
By: Taylor S.B. No. 1471
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility to establish a multiple employer welfare
arrangement.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 846.053, Insurance Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
(d-1) to read as follows:
       (b)  The employers in the multiple employer welfare
arrangement must:
             (1)  be members of an association or group of five or
more businesses that are in the same trade or industry, including
closely related businesses that provide support, services, or
supplies primarily to that trade or industry; or
             (2)  each have a principal place of business in the same
region that does not exceed the boundaries of this state or the
boundaries of a metropolitan statistical area designated by the
United States Office of Management and Budget.
       (c)  If the employers in the multiple employer welfare
arrangement are members of an association, the association must[:
             [(1)] be engaged in substantial activity for its
members other than sponsorship of an employee welfare benefit
plan[; and
             [(2)  have been in existence for at least two years
before engaging in any activities relating to providing employee
health benefits to its members].
       (c-1)  To determine whether a multiple employer welfare
arrangement is considered a large employer, participating
employees are counted in the aggregate at the level of the multiple
employer welfare arrangement.
       (d-1)  A working owner of a trade or business without
employees may qualify both as an employer and as an employee of the
trade or industry for the purposes of this section.
       SECTION 2.  Section 846.053, Insurance Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an application for a certificate of
authority as a multiple employer welfare arrangement submitted on
or after January 1, 2022.  An application submitted before January
1, 2022, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
       SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.