Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

AUSTIN

Hon. George H. Sheppard

Comptroller of Public Accounts

Austin, Texas

Dear Sir:

Opinion No. O-1698 Re: Compensation of Actua examination I)epartment on

By your letter of Novembe

in the Insurance Department the fact situation reflecte

your letter, which facts

Fleet, Actuary in of Insurance CoImnission- he Chairman of the Board to rssist an insurance cclapany

towit, the American Life Insurazc It appears that. Mr. Van Fleet October on this out

ars that the rate of day, the examinercs remunera- home state of the company nducting the examination of o business :!.n that state.

ars that Mr. Van Fleet was inadver- gular Exomination Division payro91, or the entire month. of October, and It seems that the warrant' for be issued in order to work an adjustment auned to be due Ur. Van Fleet for the eight days he served as examiner, and the emount actually paid him for the month of October, inbluding the eight days he served as examiner, under the item appropriated for the payment of the Salary of the Actuary of the Examining Division.

Hon. George II. Sheppard, Page 2

Senate Bill 397, passed by the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, provides the method of compensating examiners of this State who conduct examinations of insurance companies not organized under the laws of Texas. That Act provides in part ns follows:

"Examiners' remuneration and expenses shall be the same as that which would be paid by the home State of a company under examination to per- sons conducting the examination of a Texas company admitted to do business in that State." This provision has been fully discussed in our Conference Opinion No. 3075, dated August 3, 1939 with which you are familiar. The question was likewise inci.denMly in- volved in our Opinion NO. O-1471, addressed tothe Honorable Walter C. Wooaward, Chairman, Board of Insurance Ccuumission- ers, under date of October 14, 1939, with which you are likewise familiar.

Your question, however, does not involve the method of computing the canpensation or the availability of an Q- propriation for the purpose of paying the compensation of examiners conducting examinations of insurance companies not organized under the laws of the State of Texas; but your inquiry seems~ to be concerned with the proposition whether the Actuary of the Edamining Division assisting in the exam- ination of an out-of-state insurance company may be compensat- ed as an examiner, rather then as Actuary, for such period of time as he may actually engage in such out-of-state exemina- tion.

Your question, it seems, is explicitly answered by the below-quoted provisions appearing in Senate Bill 397:

Where the Chairman of the Board shall deem it advisable., he may commission the Actuary of the Board, the Chief Examiner or any other examiner (r employee of the department, or any other person, to conduct or assist in the examination of any oom- pany not organized under the laws of Texas and allow them compensation as herein provided, except .that they may'not be otherwise compensated during the time they are assigned to such foreign company ex&- ination.*

It follows that during the time Xr. Van Fleet, the Actuary of the Examining Division, was by commission *3 Hon. George I?. Sheppard, Page 3

of the Chairman of the Board assisting in the exam&nttion of the out-of-state insurance company referred to, he %Q~S permitted to be calpensnted for such services in the man- ner provided in Senate Bill 397. Of course, for the eight days he served.as, in effect, Examiner, he could not, under the provisions of Senate Bill 397, be compensated as "Actuary"; but we do not feel that the inadvertent pay- roll certification which reported him a? serving as Actuary during the entire month of October will or should prevent the account of your Department from being corrected to show that for eight days of such month he actually served as "Examiner," under the provisions of Senate Bill 397, nor does it, in our opinion, prevent the adjustment of his compensation according to the actual fact situation.

Trusting that the foregoing adequately answers your inquiry, we are

Very truly yours ATTORNrEY GENERAL OF TZXAS BY R. W. Fairchild Assistant A?PRCVED DEC '7, 1939

/s/ Gerald C~. Mann

ATTGRBBY GENERU OF TEXAS