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Opinion No. WW-905 - ; ~,:, ~.,~;.: Re: ,Whother or not the kcas Business Corporatiw Act ,is sow or will hocoms rgpIl- 'cab& totruururc~ compubs pubjsct to Art. 5.69 M thr Taxas -hrrurwco Cod., ia visw of ?I;& 144, Mch kg.
jrovisions of this Act 'shall apply to ~#o they .ore'wt inconsistent wiw,,the pro&ions of ~SuChl pacial statutes." (Underlinad portions added by Acts 1959, 56th Leg., p. 224, ch. 132; &LB. 144) * Hon. William A. Harrison, page 2 (WW,-905)
Article 3.69 gwerning life insurance companies provides:
"The laws governing corpo'rationr in general shall &ply to and govern insurance companies organiaed or *er- atirq under this ,Chapter 3 in so far as same are not iacoa- . sistent with the provisions of this +apter." 'L. Your first question is as follows: : *. "In view of the ameadmenk of the Texas 'Business I;, i~:~ ,. .,.~Y Corporation Act effected by H.B. 144, I request your opinion as to whether or not tbe Texas Business Corporatioa Act ir POWAI~ wilI thereafter become applicable to all iasuraaca compaaies subject to Art. 3.69 .of the Texas Insarance Code, ,. 5.. .~. regardleas .of when domestic iaaurance companies were,~~ organiaed and foreign insurance companies were admitted !. to Texas. I further sequest your Spinion as to the. date upon .'ej ;.~. : :;which ,thcTexas .:Business .Corporatlon tact bectin#: or will 'become applicable to such companies."
L;..;:.~:c.:.~. ~~ '-Thsr:e his.some Jargument advanaed,khat s*e general business corpora- ~:~tiowexisting onthe effective date of Cha:.Act war6 not to be governed thereby, the same is .true ,of insurance~companias.~: ,Dqapite'thia contentioa,~.we hold that a litaral reading of the 1959 amendment to 9,14A evidencea a clear legis- : !.~lativa .intent-to bring~a&iwurance ;companies. regardless of when organisad or..admittedto:~Texaa,uader ona set .of corporate laws ~8upplemeataI to the :.:%~ .-: Cti.:as of the-effective .dah of iuchame~ment.. This Act passed in 1955 ,..,~ ~-was.notto. then become genera,lly..applicable to existing corporatiow (&c. .: B of 9.14)i unless eaid corporations .so~chose to be governed .theraby and .. -;adopted the.:Act through ~theprocedure set .out in AtticIs 9.14.%e~titi C. Unless-soulopted. ~theAct, .by~~Section~Dof this Article was pokpoaed five years as to existing corporations. But under the provisions of fkction E of 9.143,+:Act became. automatically-affective at the expiration of this time limitatiom as~~tothose corporathus not having .previously adopted it. Both %&ions 9 and :E specifically exempt those corporatiolu. sot out ia sectiotx~ oc9.14.,
k&t&tho~~;.~Se&ioni B,:.C, D and MEof 9.14 rll contemplate the abil- ity of thc'koiporations discussed therein to adopt the .provioione of the Act, which~insur~snce companiea~auaot,~do.~ Therefore, it is our .Opinioa that these e&ctidnoitire ;hot ~inbnded, m:,a@y, toinsurance ~companies.
Aa previously~atated.::ithas-been held by this office,&& the provisions of the :CorporationAct supplement the Insurance Code ia- oofar as'~domestic inaurance~ companies 'orgad oftar and foreign insur- ance ,companies. admitted to Texan aftarthe affective date of the Act and we now hold that as of the,effective date of the amendment to Article 9.14A (August ~11,1959). the provisions of tie AC+, where not inconaistsnt, suppls- ment the Code insofar as