[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3339 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3339

To provide for public access to information regarding the availability 
       of insurance for small businesses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2001

  Mr. Gutierrez (for himself, Mr. LaFalce, Mr. Filner, Mrs. Jones of 
  Ohio, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Rush, Mr. Lipinski, Ms. Carson of 
 Indiana, Mr. Clay, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. 
 Owens, and Mrs. Christensen) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the 
Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisidiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for public access to information regarding the availability 
       of insurance for small businesses, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Insurance Data 
Disclosure Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) there are 25,500,000 small businesses in the United 
        States, representing more than 99 percent of the employers in 
        the Nation;
            (2) small business employ 51 percent of the private sector 
        workforce and create more than 80 percent of all new jobs in 
        the United States;
            (3) there were 612,400 new employer firms in the United 
        States in 2000, an increase of 4.3 percent from 1999;
            (4) small business bankruptcies decreased by 14.8 percent 
        between 1999 and 2000 to the lowest level in more than 20 
        years;
            (5) the business failure index has decreased by 1.7 percent 
        since 1999;
            (6) small businesses are the most vulnerable market sector 
        in times of economic uncertainty or downturn and experience 
        difficulties with making loan payments on existing debts, 
        paying employees, paying vendors, purchasing materials, 
        supplies, and inventory, paying rent, mortgage, insurance 
        premiums, and other operating expenses, and securing financing 
        for their businesses;
            (7) there are disparities in the insurance coverage 
        provided by some insurers between areas having different 
        incomes and racial composition;
            (8) such disparities in affordability and availability of 
        insurance severely limit the ability of entrepreneurs to obtain 
        credit for starting, growing, or expanding small businesses; 
        and
            (9) the lack of affordable and adequate small business 
        insurance severely curtails the establishment and growth of 
        such businesses.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to enhance the availability and affordability of 
        insurance products and services to all small businesses of all 
        economic circumstances and in all geographic areas;
            (2) to enhance the ability of insurance companies to meet 
        the needs of all small businesses, including small businesses 
        located in underserved communities and minority- and women-
        owned small businesses;
            (3) to establish a nationwide database for determining the 
        availability, affordability, and adequacy of insurance coverage 
        for small businesses;
            (4) to facilitate the enforcement of Federal and State laws 
        that prohibit illegally discriminatory insurance practices; and
            (5) to determine whether the extent and characteristics of 
        small business insurance availability, affordability, and 
        coverage require public officials to take any actions--
                    (A) to remedy redlining or other illegally or 
                unfairly discriminatory insurance practices; or
                    (B) regarding areas underserved by insurers, with 
                respect to small business insurance.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GENERAL REQUIREMENTS TO SUBMIT SMALL BUSINESS 
              INSURANCE INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall, by regulation, establish requirements for 
insurers to compile and submit information to the Administrator for 
each annual reporting period, in accordance with this Act.
    (b) Consultation.--In establishing the requirements for the 
submission of information under this Act, the Administrator shall 
consult with Federal agencies having appropriate expertise, the 
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, State insurance 
regulators, statistical agents, representatives of small businesses, 
representatives of insurance agents (including minority insurance 
agents), representatives of property and casualty insurers that provide 
insurance for small businesses, and community, consumer, and civil 
rights organizations, as appropriate.
    (c) Health and Life Insurance Lines Not Included.--This Act shall 
not apply to life or health lines of insurance or to insurers that 
provide only life or health insurance products.

SEC. 4. REPORTING OF SMALL BUSINESS INSURANCE INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--The requirements established pursuant to section 3 
to carry out this section shall--
            (1) be designed to ensure that information is submitted and 
        compiled under this section as may be necessary to permit 
        analysis and comparison of the availability and affordability 
        of insurance coverage and the quality or type of insurance 
        coverage for small businesses, by census tract (including low- 
        and moderate-income neighborhoods), location of the small 
        business, and the race and gender of small business owners; and
            (2) specify the data elements required to be reported under 
        this section and require uniformity in the definitions of the 
        data elements.
    (b) Insurers.--
            (1) Aggregate information.--The regulations issued under 
        section 3 shall require that each insurer for a designated line 
        of insurance under section 8(a)(1) shall compile and submit to 
        the Administrator, for each annual reporting period--
                    (A) the total number of policies issued in such 
                line, total exposures covered by such policies, and 
                total amount of premiums for such policies, by 
                designated line and by census tract, including low- and 
                moderate-income neighborhoods, in which the insured 
                risk is located;
                    (B) the total number of cancellations and 
                nonrenewals (expressed in terms of policies or 
                exposures, as determined by the Administrator), by 
                designated line and by census tract, including low- and 
                moderate-income neighborhoods, in which the insured 
                risk is located; and
                    (C) for such designated line of insurance, 
                information that will enable the Administrator to 
                assess the aggregate loss experience for the insurer, 
                by census tract, including low- and moderate-income 
neighborhoods, in which the insured risk is located.
            (2) Specification of information for itemized disclosure.--
                    (A) In general.--The regulations issued under 
                section 3 regarding annual reporting requirements for 
                insurers for a designated line of insurance under 
                section 8(a)(1) shall, with respect to policies issued 
                under the designated line or exposure units covered by 
                such policies, as determined by the Administrator--
                            (i) specify the data elements that shall be 
                        submitted;
                            (ii) provide for the submission of 
                        information on an individual insurer basis;
                            (iii) provide for the submission of the 
                        information with the least burden on insurers, 
                        particularly small insurers, and insurance 
                        agents;
                            (iv) take into account existing statistical 
                        reporting systems in the insurance industry;
                            (v) require reporting by census tract, 
                        including low- and moderate-income 
                        neighborhoods, in which the insured risk is 
                        located;
                            (vi) provide for the submission of 
                        information that--
                                    (I) identifies the designated line, 
                                and subline or coverage type; and
                                    (II) where applicable, 
                                distinguishes between the type of 
                                policy under each such subline or 
                                coverage type that provides full 
                                replacement cost and all other bases 
                                for computing claims, such as actual 
                                cash value and fair market value;
                            (vii) provide for the submission of 
                        information that distinguishes policies written 
                        in a residual market from policies written in 
                        the voluntary market;
                            (viii) specify--
                                    (I) whether information shall be 
                                submitted on the basis of policy or 
                                exposure unit; and
                                    (II) whether information, when 
                                submitted, shall be aggregated by like 
                                policyholders with like policies, 
                                except that the Administrator shall not 
                                permit such aggregation if it will 
                                adversely affect the accuracy of the 
                                information reported;
                            (ix) in addition to reporting approvals, 
                        provide for the submission of information 
                        regarding the number of denials, cancellations, 
                        and nonrenewals of policies under the 
                        designated line by census tract in which the 
                        insured risk is located, by race, gender, and 
                        revenue size of the small business 
                        policyholder, and by whether the policy was 
                        issued in a voluntary or residual market; and
                            (x) provide for the submission of 
                        information on the racial characteristics, 
                        gender, and revenue size of the small business 
                        policyholders at the level of detail comparable 
                        to that required by the Home Mortgage 
                        Disclosure Act of 1975 (and the regulations 
                        issued thereunder).
                    (B) Rules regarding obtaining racial information.--
                            (i) Writing requirement.--The information 
                        specified in subparagraph (A)(x) relating to 
                        the racial characteristics of applicants for, 
                        and policyholders of, insurance shall be 
                        obtained only in accordance with the procedures 
                        for requesting and recording racial information 
                        established in Regulation C of the Board of 
                        Governors of the Federal Reserve System under 
                        the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, as in 
                        effect on the date of the enactment of this 
                        Act.
                            (ii) Notice of voluntary nature of 
                        question.--Any such written question shall 
                        clearly indicate that a response to the 
                        question is voluntary on the part of the 
                        applicant or policyholder, but encouraged, and 
                        that the information is being requested by the 
                        Federal Government to monitor the availability 
                        and affordability of insurance.
                            (iii) Provision of information by agent or 
                        insurer.--If an applicant for, or policyholder 
                        of, insurance declines to provide such 
                        information, the agent or insurer for such 
                        insurance may provide such information.
            (3) Rule for reporting by insurers.--An insurer for a 
        designated line shall submit information required under 
        paragraph (1) and information required pursuant to paragraph 
        (2), for risks insured under such line that are located within 
        each census tract any part of which is located in a State for 
        which the insurer is offering the designated line.

SEC. 5. WAIVER OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Waiver for States Collecting Equivalent Information.--
            (1) Authority.--Subject to the requirements under this 
        section, the Administrator shall provide, by regulation, for 
        the waiver of the applicability of the provisions of section 4 
        for each insurer transacting business within a State referred 
        to in paragraph (2), but only with respect to information 
        required to be submitted under such sections that relates to 
        insured risks located in the State.
            (2) Requirements.--The Administrator may make a waiver 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) only with respect to a State that the 
        Administrator determines has in effect a law or other 
        requirement that--
                    (A) requires insurers to submit to the State 
                information that is at least the same or equivalent to 
                the information that is required to be submitted to the 
Administrator pursuant to section 4;
                    (B) provides for adequate enforcement of such law 
                or other requirements; and
                    (C) provides for the same annual reporting period 
                used by the Administrator under this Act and for 
                submission of the information to the Administrator in a 
                timely fashion, as determined by the Administrator.
            (3) Duration.--A waiver pursuant to paragraph (1) may 
        remain in effect only during the period for which the State law 
        or other requirement required under paragraph (2) remains in 
        effect.
    (b) Multiple-State Areas.--In the case of any census tract that 
contains area within--
            (1) any State for which a waiver has been made pursuant to 
        subsection (a), and
            (2) any State for which such a waiver has not been made,
the provisions of this Act requiring submission of information to the 
Administrator regarding such tract or area shall be considered to apply 
only to the portion that is located within the State for which such a 
waiver has not been made.
    (c) Authority for Administrator To Obtain Information Directly From 
Insurers.--If the State for which a waiver has been made pursuant to 
subsection (a) does not submit to the Administrator the information 
required under subsection (a)(2)(A) or submits information that is not 
complete, the Administrator shall require the insurers transacting 
business within the State to submit such information directly to the 
Administrator.

SEC. 6. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ADMINISTRATOR AND MAINTENANCE OF 
              INFORMATION.

    (a) Period of Maintenance.--Each insurer required by this Act to 
compile and submit information to the Administrator shall maintain such 
information for the 3-year period beginning upon the conclusion of the 
annual reporting period to which such information relates. The 
Administrator shall maintain any information submitted to the 
Administrator for such period as the Administrator considers 
appropriate and feasible to carry out the purposes of this Act and to 
allow for historical analysis and comparison of the information.
    (b) Submission.--The Administrator shall issue regulations 
prescribing a standard schedule (taking into consideration the 
provisions of section 7(a)), format, and method for submitting 
information under this Act to the Administrator. The format and method 
of submitting the information shall facilitate and encourage the 
submission in a form readable by a computer. Any insurer submitting 
information to the Administrator may submit in writing to the 
Administrator any additional information or explanations that the 
insurer considers relevant to the decision by the insurer to sell 
insurance.

SEC. 7. AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS SYSTEM.

    (a) Availability to Public.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall maintain and make 
        available to the public, in accordance with the requirements of 
        this section, any information submitted to the Administrator 
        under this Act and any information compiled by the 
        Administrator under this Act.
            (2) Timing.--The Administrator shall make such information 
        publicly available on a timetable determined by the 
        Administrator, but not later than 9 months after the conclusion 
        of the annual reporting period to which the information 
        relates, except that such information shall not be made 
        available to the public until it is available in its entirety 
        unless not all the information required to be reported is 
        available by such date.
    (b) Public Access System.--
            (1) Implementation.--The Administrator shall implement a 
        system to facilitate access to any information required to be 
        made available to the public under this Act.
            (2) Bases of availability.--The system shall provide access 
        in the following manners:
                    (A) Access to itemized information.--With respect 
                to information submitted under by insurers, on the 
                basis of the insurer submitting the information, on the 
                basis of the census tract, including low- and moderate-
                income neighborhoods, and on any other basis the 
                Administrator considers feasible and appropriate.
                    (B) Access to aggregate information.--With respect 
                to aggregate information compiled by the Administrator, 
                on the basis of (i) the insurer submitting the 
                information, and (ii) the census tract, including low- 
                and moderate-income neighborhoods, and on any other 
                basis the Administrator considers feasible and 
                appropriate.
    (c) Protections Regarding Loss Information.--
            (1) Prohibition of disclosure of loss information.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 
        Administrator may not make available to the public or otherwise 
        disclose any information submitted under this Act regarding the 
        amount or number of claims paid by any insurer, the amount of 
        losses of any insurer, or the loss experience for any insurer, 
        except (A) in the form of a loss ratio (expressing the 
        relationship of claims paid to premiums) made available or 
        disclosed in compliance with the provisions of paragraph (2), 
        or (B) as provided in paragraph (3).
            (2) Protection of identity of insurer.--In making available 
        to the public or otherwise disclosing a loss ratio for an 
        insurer--
                    (A) the Administrator may not identify the insurer 
                to which the loss ratio relates; and
                    (B) the Administrator may disclose the loss ratio 
                only in a manner that does not allow any party to 
                determine the identity of the specific insurer to which 
                the loss ratio relates, except parties having access to 
                information under paragraph (3).
            (3) Confidentiality of information disclosed to 
        governmental agencies.--The Administrator may make information 
        referred to in paragraph (1) and the identity of the specific 
        insurer to which such information relates available to any 
Federal entity and any State agency responsible for regulating 
insurance in a State and may otherwise disclose such information to any 
such entity or agency, but only to the extent such entity or agency 
agrees not to make any such information available or disclose such 
information to any other person.

SEC. 8. DESIGNATIONS.

    (a) Designation of Lines of Insurance.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall, by regulation, 
        designate as designated lines for purposes of this Act any 
        lines of insurance for small businesses and any sublines and 
        coverage types of small business insurance that the 
        Administrator considers appropriate to determine and compare 
        the availability, affordability, and type of coverage in such 
        lines among applicable regions.
            (2) Report.--At any time the Administrator determines that 
        any line of insurance for small businesses not described in 
        paragraph (1) should be a designated line because disparities 
        in coverage provided under such line exist among geographic 
        areas having different income levels or racial composition, the 
        Administrator shall submit a report recommending designating 
        such line of insurance as a designated line for purposes of 
        this Act to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives and the appropriate committees of the Senate.
            (3) Duration.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the Administrator shall make the designations 
                under this subsection once every 5 years, by 
                regulation, and each line and subline or coverage type 
                designated under such regulations shall be designated 
                for each of the first 5 successive annual reporting 
                periods occurring after issuance of the regulations.
                    (B) Alteration.--During any 5-year period referred 
                to in subparagraph (A) in which designations are in 
                effect, the Administrator may amend or revise the 
                designated lines, sublines, and coverage types only by 
                regulation and only in accordance with the requirements 
                of this subsection. Such regulations amending or 
                revising designations shall apply only to annual 
                reporting periods beginning after the expiration of the 
                6-month period beginning on the date of issuance of the 
                regulations.
    (b) Timing of Designations.--The Administrator shall make the 
designations required by subsection (a)(3)(A) and notify interested 
parties during the 6-month period ending 6 months before the 
commencement of the first annual reporting period to which such 
designations apply.
    (c) Obtaining Information.--The Administrator may require insurers 
to submit to the Administrator such information as the Administrator 
considers necessary to make designations specifically required under 
this Act. The Administrator may not require insurers to submit any 
information under this subsection that relates to any line of small 
business insurance not specifically authorized to be designated 
pursuant to this Act or that is to be used solely for the purpose of a 
report under subsection (a)(2).

SEC. 9. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Civil Penalties.--Any insurer who is determined by the 
Administrator, after providing opportunity for a hearing on the record, 
to have violated any requirement pursuant to this Act shall be subject 
to a civil penalty of not to exceed $5,000 for each day during which 
such violation continues.
    (b) Injunction.--The Administrator may bring an action in an 
appropriate United States district court for appropriate declaratory 
and injunctive relief against any insurer who violates the requirements 
referred to in subsection (a).
    (c) Insurer Liability.--An insurer shall be responsible under 
subsections (a) and (b) for any violation of a statistical agent acting 
on behalf of the insurer.

SEC. 10. EXEMPTION AND RELATION TO STATE LAWS.

    (a) Exemption for United States Programs.--Reporting shall not be 
required under this Act with respect to insurance provided by any 
program underwritten or administered by the United States.
    (b) Relation to State Laws.--This Act shall not be construed as 
annulling, altering, or affecting the laws of any State or any 
political subdivision of a State relating to public disclosure, 
submission of information, and recordkeeping or exempting any insurer 
subject to this Act from any obligation under, or an obligation to 
comply with, any such law.

SEC. 11. SURVEY OF AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF SMALL BUSINESS 
              PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.

    (a) Survey.--The Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall, through the Office of Advocacy of such Administration, conduct a 
survey of a statistically representative sample of small business 
owners regarding their experiences in applying for, obtaining, and 
being refused small business insurance, which shall--
            (1) obtain information about coverage levels, including 
        coverage for acts of terrorism and acts of nature, and average 
        annual premiums; and
            (2) involve a sample size that is large enough to reach 
        meaningful conclusions about the availability and affordability 
        of insurance by gender, race, and ethnicity of the small 
        business owner, by revenue amount of the small business, and by 
        census tract location of the small business.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall complete the survey under subsection (a) and submit a report to 
the Congress regarding the results of the survey, which shall include--
            (1) identification and an analysis of any trends in the 
        availability and affordability of small business insurance 
        products or services, particularly with respect to small 
        businesses in low-income communities, minority-owned small 
        businesses, and women-owned small businesses;
            (2) identification and an analysis of any barriers to the 
        availability and affordability of insurance products and 
        services, particularly with respect to small businesses in low-
income communities, minority-owned small businesses, and women-owned 
small businesses; and
            (3) any recommendations to increase access to affordable 
        insurance products and services by small business owners, 
        including to small businesses in low-income communities, 
        minority-owned small businesses, and women-owned small 
        businesses.

SEC. 12. SOUND UNDERWRITING PRACTICES.

    This Act may not be construed to encourage or authorize unsound 
underwriting practices.

SEC. 13. REGULATIONS.

    (a) Authorization.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall issue any 
        regulations required under this Act and any other regulations 
        that may be necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Substantive regulations.--The regulations shall be 
        issued in accordance with the procedures under section 553 of 
        title 5, United States Code, for substantive regulations.
            (3) Effective date.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        Act, such final regulations shall be issued before the end of 
        the 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
    (b) Burdens.--In prescribing such regulations, the Administrator 
shall take into consideration the administrative, paperwork, and other 
burdens on insurance agents, including independent insurance agents, 
involved in complying with the requirements of this Act and shall 
minimize the burdens imposed by such requirements with respect to such 
agents.

SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
            (2) Agent.--The term ``agent''--
                    (A) means, with respect to an insurer, an agent 
                licensed by a State who sells property and casualty 
                insurance; and
                    (B) includes agents who are employees of the 
                insurer, agents who are independent contractors working 
                exclusively for the insurer, and agents who are 
                independent contractors appointed to represent the 
                insurer on a nonexclusive basis.
            (3) Designated line.--The term ``designated line'' means a 
        line of insurance or bid, performance, and payment bonds 
        designated by the Administrator under section 8(a).
            (4) Exposures.--The term ``exposures'' means, for purposes 
        of section 4, with respect to an insurance policy, an 
        expression of an exposure unit covered under the policy 
        compared to the duration of the policy (pursuant to standards 
        established by the Administrator for uniform reporting of 
        exposures).
            (5) Exposure units.--The term ``exposure units'' means, for 
        purposes of section 4, a small business covered under an 
        insurance policy for small business fire and allied lines 
        coverage.
            (6) Insurance.--The term ``insurance'' means property and 
        casualty insurance. Such term includes primary insurance, 
        surplus lines insurance, and any other arrangement for the 
        shifting and distributing of risks that is determined to be 
        insurance under the law of any State in which the insurer or 
        insurer group engages in an insurance business.
            (7) Insurer.--The term ``insurer''--
                    (A) means any corporation, association, society, 
                order, firm, company, mutual, partnership, individual, 
                aggregation of individuals, or any other legal entity 
                that is authorized to transact the business of property 
                or casualty insurance in any State or that is engaged 
                in a property or casualty insurance business; and
                    (B) does not include an individual or entity which 
                represents an insurer as agent solely for the purpose 
                of selling or which represents a consumer as a broker 
                solely for the purpose of buying insurance.
            (8) Issued.--The term ``issued'' means, with respect to an 
        insurance policy, newly issued or renewed.
            (9) Joint underwriting association.--The term ``joint 
        underwriting association'' means an unincorporated association 
        of insurers established to provide a particular form of 
        insurance to the public.
            (10) Minority.--The term ``minority'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 1204(c) of the Financial Institutions 
        Reform, Recovery, and Enhancement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1811 
        note).
            (11) Minority-owned small business.--The term ``minority-
        owned small business'' means a small business--
                    (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or 
                control of which is held by one or more minority 
                individuals; and
                    (B) more than 50 percent of the net profits or loss 
                of which accrues to one or more minority individuals.
            (12) Property and casualty insurance.--The term ``property 
        and casualty insurance''--
                    (A) means insurance against loss of or damage to 
                property, insurance against loss of income or extra 
                expense incurred because of loss of, or damage to, 
                property, and insurance against third party liability 
                claims caused by negligence or imposed by statute or 
                contract; and
                    (B) does not include workers' compensation, 
                professional liability, or title insurance.
            (13) Residual market.--The term ``residual market''--
                    (A) means an assigned risk plan, joint underwriting 
                association, or any similar mechanism designed to make 
                insurance available to those unable to obtain it in the 
                voluntary market; and
                    (B) includes each statewide plan under part A of 
                title XII of the National Housing Act to assure fair 
                access to insurance requirements.
            (14) Small business.--The term ``small business'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 3 of the Small Business Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 632)
            (15) State.--The term ``State'' means any State, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 
        and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
            (16) Women-owned small business.--The term ``women-owned 
        small business'' means a small business--
                    (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or 
                control of which is held by one or more women; and
                    (B) more than 50 percent of the net profits or loss 
                of which accrues to one or more women.

SEC. 15. ANNUAL REPORTING PERIOD.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of this Act, the annual reporting 
periods shall be the 12-month periods commencing in each calendar year 
on the same day, which shall be selected under subsection (b) by the 
Administrator.
    (b) Selection.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall, by regulation, select a day of the year upon which all annual 
reporting periods shall commence. In determining such day, the 
Administrator shall consider the reporting periods used for purposes of 
State and other insurance statistical reporting systems, in order to 
minimize the burdens on insurers.

SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The requirements of this Act relating to reporting of information 
by insurers shall take effect with respect to the first annual 
reporting period that begins more than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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