TX| The Texas Department of Insurance adopted amendments to 28 TAC §1.414 through Commissioner’s Order No. 2026-10169, issued October 1, 2026, to implement Senate Bill 1455 (89th Legislature, 2025). The amendments replace workers’ compensation maintenance-tax terminology with surcharge terminology and make nonsubstantive punctuation, plain-language, and formatting revisions. The rule provides for annual assessment rates established by commissioner order, specifies how revenue needs and assessment rates are calculated, and identifies applicable payment and billing requirements.
- Workers’ compensation changes: The amendments replace “maintenance tax” with “surcharge” and add surcharge references in provisions addressing workers’ compensation, aligning the rule with SB 1455’s changes to the Insurance Code and Labor Code.
- Annual assessments and calculations: Rates are established annually by commissioner order. Assessment rates equal the calculated revenue need divided by estimated premium volume or the applicable assessment base; when a calculated rate exceeds the statutory maximum, the rate is capped and the shortfall is spread across other maintenance-tax or surcharge lines. This adoption does not specify numerical assessment rates.
- Payment and billing: Assessments under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) are payable to the Comptroller of Public Accounts on March 1 each year. Certified self-insurer surcharges under subsections (d) and (f) are billed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. The document states the issuance date but does not specify the amendments’ effective date.