(A) The commission shall pay or provide for the payment of the reasonable expenses of its establishment and organization. To fund the cost of its initial operations, the commission may accept contributions and other forms of funding from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, compacting states, and other sources. Contributions and other forms of funding from other sources must be of such a nature that the independence of the commission concerning the performance of its duties is not compromised.

(B) The commission shall collect a filing fee from each insurer and third-party filer filing a product with the commission to cover the cost of the operations and activities of the commission and its staff in a total amount sufficient to cover the commission's annual budget.

(C) The commission's budget for a fiscal year is not approved until it has been subject to notice and comment as provided in Section 38-95-70.

(D) The commission is exempt from all taxation in and by the compacting states.

(E) The commission may not pledge the credit of a compacting state, except by and with the appropriate legal authority of that compacting state.

(F) The commission shall keep complete and accurate accounts of all its internal receipts, including grants and donations, and disbursements of all funds under its control. The internal financial accounts of the commission are subject to the accounting procedures established under its bylaws. The financial accounts and reports including the system of internal controls and procedures of the commission must be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant. Upon the determination of the commission, but no less frequently than every three years, the review of the independent auditor must include a management and performance audit of the commission. The commission shall make an annual report to the governor and legislature of each of the compacting states, which includes a report of the independent audit. The commission's internal accounts are not confidential and those materials may be shared with the commissioner of a compacting state upon request. Work papers related to an internal or independent audit and information regarding the privacy of individuals and insurers' proprietary information, including trade secrets, remain confidential.

(G) A compacting state shall not have a claim to or ownership of property held by or vested in the commission or to commission funds held pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 339, Section 2, eff January 1, 2009; Reenacted by 2016 Act No. 161 (H.4662), Section 1, eff June 1, 2014.

Editor's Note

2016 Act No. 161, Section 1, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact, as established by Section 2, Act 339 of 2008, and contained in Chapter 95, Title 38, and related provisions contained in Sections 1, 3, and 5, Act 339 of 2008, all are reenacted as provided in Act 339 of 2008, retroactive to June 1, 2014, when the act expired. The reporting requirements of Section 4, and the expiration provision of Section 6, Act 339 of 2008, are not reenacted."