HBA-CCH H.B. 1382 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1382 By: Dunnam Business & Industry 3/22/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the process for appealing a ruling in a workers' compensation case requires an individual to file suit in a court within 40 days of the denial of an administrative appeal. To file the suit, it is necessary to serve the legal documents on the insurance carrier's registered agent for service. However, it can be difficult to find and serve the registered agent for service within the time limit. House Bill 1382 requires an insurance carrier at a contested case hearing to file a document stating the corporate name of the insurance carrier and the name and address of the insurance carrier's registered agent for service of process. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1382 amends the Labor Code to require an insurance carrier at each contested workers' compensation case hearing, to file with the hearing officer and deliver to the claimant a single document stating the true corporate name of the insurance carrier and the name and address of the insurance carrier's registered agent for service of process. This document is part of the contested case hearing record. The bill requires each final decision of the appeals panel to conclude with a separate paragraph stating both the true corporate name of the insurance carrier and the name and address of its registered agent for service of process in bold print. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.