House approves change to insurance-committee appointments amid objections about centralizing power

The House passed House Bill 2536 on third reading, a measure the sponsor said was designed to reduce conflicts of interest by removing certain special-interest appointing authorities from state and local insurance committees.

Representative Hill, the sponsor, said the bill "seeks to eliminate the conflict of interest by removing special interest appointing authority" from the state insurance plan and related local plans. Representative Pearson objected, warning the bill concentrates appointment power in the office of the Commissioner of Finance and Administration and could replace pluralistic selection by associations with single-department control. "That I think is going to be the reason that I can't support the legislation," Pearson said, citing concerns about centralization.

Following floor discussion, the bill was declared passed with objection. The transcript records objections raised on the floor but no amendments adopted to address the centralization concerns during that session.