Bill Text: WV HB2894 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Changing surcharge on fire and casualty insurance policies to one percent and dedicating the money to volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-17 - To House Finance [HB2894 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2011-HB2894-Introduced.html
(By Delegates Hamilton, Hartman, D. Campbell,
Snuffer, Talbott, Manypenny, Michael, Ireland,
Evans, Azinger and Ferro)
[Introduced January 27, 2011; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §33-3-33 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to taking back the surcharge on fire and casualty insurance policies to one percent and have this surcharge benefit volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-3-33 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, to read as follows:
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)
(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 twenty-fifth 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 January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, to each volunteer fire company or department on an equal share basis by the State Treasurer.
(e) The allocation, distribution and use of revenues provided in the Fire Protection Fund are subject to the provisions of sections eight-a and eight-b, article fifteen, chapter eight of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to take the fire or casualty insurance surcharge to one percent and dedicated the money to the Fire Protection Fund, which goes to volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.