justicedao/ipfs_state_laws huggingface dataset:
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.228. Prohibited interests and rewards. (1) No officer or employee of the Department of Consumer and Business Services delegated responsibilities in the enforcement of the Insurance Code shall: (a) Be a director, officer, or employee of or be financially interested in any person regulated by the department or office of the department that is delegated responsibility in the enforcement of the Insurance Code, except as a policyholder or claimant under an insurance policy or by reason of rights vested in commissions, fees, or retirement benefits related to services performed prior to affiliation with the department; or (b) Be engaged in any other business or occupation interfering with or inconsistent with the duties of the office or employment. (2) No person shall directly or indirectly give or pay, or offer to give or pay, to the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, or any officer or employee of the department, and the director or such officer or employee shall not directly or indirectly solicit, receive or accept any fee, compensation, loan, gift or other thing of value in addition to the compensation and expense allowance provided by law, for: (a) Any service rendered or to be rendered as such director, officer or employee, or in connection therewith; (b) Services rendered or to be rendered in relation to legislation; (c) Extra services rendered or to be rendered; or (d) Any cause whatsoever related to any person regulated by the department or office of the department that is delegated responsibility in the enforcement of the Insurance Code. (3) This section does not permit any conduct, affiliation or interest that is otherwise prohibited by public policy.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.232. Subpoena power. (1) For the purpose of an investigation or proceeding under the Insurance Code, the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, take evidence and require the production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, agreements or other documents or records which the director considers relevant or material to the inquiry. Each witness who appears before the director under a subpoena shall receive the fees and mileage provided for witnesses in ORS 44.415 (2). (2) If a person fails to comply with a subpoena so issued or a party or witness refuses to testify on any matters, the judge of the circuit court for any county, on the application of the director, shall compel obedience by proceedings for contempt as in the case of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from such court or a refusal to testify therein.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.236. General powers and duties. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall enforce the provisions of the Insurance Code for the public good, and shall execute the duties imposed by the code. (2) The director has the powers and authority expressly conferred by or reasonably implied from the provisions of the Insurance Code. (3) The director may conduct such examinations and investigations of insurance matters, in addition to examinations and investigations expressly authorized, as the director considers proper to determine whether any person has violated any provision of the Insurance Code or to secure information useful in the lawful administration of any such provision. The cost of such additional examinations and investigations shall be borne by the state. (4) The director has such additional powers and duties as may be provided by other laws of this state.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.240. Hearings in general. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall hold a hearing upon written demand for a hearing by a person aggrieved by any act, threatened act or failure of the director to act. The demand must state the grounds therefor. (2) To the extent applicable and not inconsistent with subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of ORS chapter 183 shall govern the hearing procedure and any judicial review thereof.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.244. Rules. In accordance with the applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183, the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may make reasonable rules necessary for or as an aid to the effectuation of the Insurance Code. No such rule shall extend, modify or conflict with the Insurance Code or the reasonable implications thereof.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.248. Orders. (1) Orders of the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall be effective only when in writing and signed by the director or by the authority of the director. Orders shall be filed in the Department of Consumer and Business Services. (2) Every such order shall state: (a) Its effective date; (b) Its intent or purpose; (c) The grounds on which based; and (d) The provisions of the Insurance Code pursuant to which action is taken or proposed to be taken. (3) Except as may be provided in the Insurance Code respecting particular procedures, an order or notice may be given by delivery to the person to be ordered or notified or by mailing it by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed to the person at the residence or principal place of business of the person as last of record in the department. Notice so mailed shall be deemed to have been given when deposited in a letter depository of a United States post office.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.252. Cease and desist orders. (1) Whenever the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services has reason to believe that any person has been engaged or is engaging or is about to engage in any violation of the Insurance Code, the director may issue an order, directed to such person, to discontinue or desist from such violation or threatened violation. The copy of the order forwarded to the person involved shall set forth a statement of the specific charges and the fact that the person may request a hearing within 20 days of the date of mailing. Where a hearing is requested, the director shall set a date for the hearing to be held within 30 days after receipt of the request, and shall give the person involved written notice of the hearing date at least seven days prior thereto. The person requesting the hearing must establish to the satisfaction of the director that such order should not be complied with. The order shall become final 20 days after the date of mailing unless within such 20-day period the person to whom it is directed files with the director a written request for a hearing. To the extent applicable and not inconsistent with the foregoing, the provisions of ORS chapter 183 shall govern the hearing procedure and any judicial review thereof. Where the hearing has been requested, the directors order shall become final at such time as the right to further hearing or review has expired or been exhausted. (2) No order of the director under this section or order of a court to enforce the same shall in any way relieve or absolve any person affected by such order from any liability under any other laws of this state. (3) The powers vested in the director pursuant to this section are supplementary and not in lieu of any other powers to suspend or revoke certificates of authority or licenses or to enforce any penalties, fines or forfeitures, authorized by law with respect to any violation for which an order of discontinuance has been issued. [Formerly 736.835]
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.256. Enforcement generally; restitution. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may institute actions or other lawful proceedings that the director deems necessary to enforce a provision of the Insurance Code or any order or action the director makes or takes in pursuance of law. (2) As part of or in addition to any action or proceeding the director institutes against an insurer under subsection (1) of this section, the director may: (a) Seek restitution on a consumers behalf for actual damages the consumer suffers as a result of the insurers violation of a provision of the Insurance Code or applicable federal law or the insurers breach of an insurance contract or policy the insurer has with the consumer; and (b) Seek other equitable relief the director deems appropriate under the circumstances. (3) If the director has reason to believe that a person has violated a provision of the Insurance Code or another law that applies to insurance operations, and if the violation is subject to criminal prosecution and in the opinion of the director criminal prosecution is warranted, the director shall give the information about the violation to the Attorney General or district attorney that has jurisdiction over the violation. The Attorney General or district attorney promptly shall institute an action or a proceeding against the person as the information requires or justifies. (4) An action or proceeding that the director institutes under subsection (1) of this section is an exercise of the directors regulatory authority and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, does not create a cause of action for any other person.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.259. Requirement for written notice to insured; rules. (1) The Department of Consumer and Business Services may require an insurer to provide a written notice to an insured to fully effectuate any law the department is responsible for enforcing, including, but not limited to, laws regarding: (a) Enrollment periods. (b) The termination of coverage. (c) The availability of coverage outside of an open enrollment period. (d) The rights of insureds. (2) The department may prescribe by rule the form, manner and contents of any required notices. Any requirements must be designed to minimize the administrative burden on insurers, including by allowing notices to be combined into one notice, as appropriate. [2013 c.681 5] Note:
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.260. False or misleading filings. No person shall file or cause to be filed with the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services any article, certificate, report, statement, application or any other information required or permitted to be so filed under the Insurance Code and known to such person to be false or misleading in any material respect. [Formerly 736.650]
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.264. Complaints and investigations confidential; permitted disclosures; rules. (1) A complaint made to the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services against any person regulated by the Insurance Code, and the record of the complaint, is confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in ORS 705.137. The complaint, and the record of the complaint, may not be used in any action, suit or proceeding except to the extent the director considers necessary in prosecuting apparent violations of the Insurance Code or other law. (2) Data gathered pursuant to an investigation by the director of a complaint is confidential, may not be disclosed except as provided in ORS 705.137 and may not be used in any action, suit or proceeding except to the extent the director considers necessary in investigating or prosecuting apparent violations of the Insurance Code or other law. (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the director shall establish by rule a method for publishing an annual statistical report containing the insurers name and the number, percentage, type and disposition of complaints the Department of Consumer and Business Services receives against each insurer that transacts insurance within this state.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.268. Use of reproductions and certified copies as evidence; fee. (1) Photographs or microphotographs in the form of film or prints of documents and records made by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services for the files of the director shall have the same force and effect as the originals thereof, and duly certified or authenticated reproductions of such photographs or microphotographs shall be as admissible in evidence as are the originals. (2) Upon request of any person and payment of the applicable fee, the director shall furnish a certified copy of any record in the office of the director which is then subject to public inspection. (3) Copies of original records or documents in the office of the director certified by the director shall have the same force and effect and be received in evidence in all courts equally and in like manner as if they were originals.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.272. Directors annual reports; notice of publication of report. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall prepare annually, as soon after March 1 as is consistent with full and accurate preparation, a report of the official transactions of the director under the Insurance Code. The report shall include: (a) In condensed form statements made to the director by every insurer authorized to do business in this state. (b) A statement of all insurers authorized to do business in this state as of the date of the report. (c) A list of insurers whose business in this state was terminated and the reason for the termination. If the termination was a result of liquidation or delinquency proceedings brought against the insurer in this or any other state, the report shall include the amount of the insurers assets and liabilities so far as those amounts are known to the director. (d) A statement of the operating expenses of the Department of Consumer and Business Services under the Insurance Code, including salaries, transportation, communication, printing, office supplies, fixed charges and miscellaneous expenses. (e) A detailed statement of the moneys, fees and taxes received by the department under the Insurance Code and from what source. (f) Any other pertinent information and matters as the director considers to be in the public interest. (2) The director shall give notice of the publication of the report to: (a) The office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (b) The office of the President of the Senate; and (c) The chair or cochairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means if the Legislative Assembly is in session or of the Emergency Board or the Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means if during the interim.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.276. Recommendations for changes in Insurance Code. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall continuously review the Insurance Code and shall work with the Director of the Oregon Health Authority to review the health insurance provisions of the Insurance Code and may, from time to time, make recommendations for changes therein.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.280. Publications authorized. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall publish: (1) Pamphlet or booklet copies of the insurance laws of this state; (2) The directors annual report; (3) Such copies of results of investigations or examinations of insurers for public distribution as the director considers to be in the public interest; (4) Such compilations as the director considers advisable from time to time of the general orders of the director then in force; and (5) Such other material as the director may compile and consider relevant and suitable for the effective administration of the Insurance Code.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.282. Authority to sell publications. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may sell, at a price reasonably calculated to cover the costs of preparation, any of the copies, compilations or materials described in ORS 731.280.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.284. Distribution of insurance laws. Copies of the insurance laws in pamphlet form may be sold by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services at a reasonable price. The director may distribute free of charge one copy of such pamphlet to each of the following: (1) Authorized insurers and licensed rating organizations; (2) Insurance departments of other states; and (3) Public agencies. However, the director may distribute such quantities to public agencies as the director determines.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.288. Recording complaints; director to consider complaints before issuing licenses. The Department of Consumer and Business Services shall record each complaint the department receives, including the subsequent disposition of the complaint. The record of a complaint shall be maintained for a period of not less than seven years. The records of complaints shall be indexed whenever applicable both by the name of the insurer and by the name of the insurance producer involved. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall consider such complaints before issuing or continuing any certificate of authority or license of an insurer or insurance producer named in such complaints.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.292. Disposition of fees, charges, taxes, penalties and other moneys. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, all fees, charges and other moneys received by the Department of Consumer and Business Services or the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services under the Insurance Code shall be deposited in the fund created by ORS 705.145 and are continuously appropriated to the department for the payment of the expenses of the department in carrying out the Insurance Code. (2) All taxes and penalties paid pursuant to the Insurance Code shall be paid to the director and after deductions of refunds shall be paid by the director to the State Treasurer, at the end of every calendar month or more often in the directors discretion, for deposit in the General Fund to become available for general governmental expenses. (3) All premium taxes received by the director pursuant to ORS 731.820 shall be paid by the director to the State Treasurer for deposit in the State Fire Marshal Fund. (4) Assessments received by the department under sections 3 and 5, chapter 538, Oregon Laws 2017, and penalties received by the department under section 6, chapter 538, Oregon Laws 2017, shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to the Health System Fund established under section 2, chapter 538, Oregon Laws 2017.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.296. Directors inquiries. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may address any proper inquiries to any insurer, licensee or its officers in relation to its activities or condition or any other matter connected with its transactions. Any such person so addressed shall promptly and truthfully reply to such inquiries using the form of communication requested by the director. The reply shall be verified by an officer of such person, if the director so requires. A reply is subject to the provisions of ORS 731.260.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.300. Examination of insurers; when required. (1) The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall examine every authorized insurer, including an audit of the financial affairs of such insurer, as often as the director determines an examination to be necessary but at least once each five years. An examination shall be conducted for the purpose of determining the financial condition of the insurer, its ability to fulfill its obligations and its manner of fulfillment, the nature of its operations and its compliance with the Insurance Code. The director may also make such an examination of any surplus lines insurance producer or any person holding the capital stock of an authorized insurer or surplus lines insurance producer for the purpose of controlling the management thereof as a voting trustee or otherwise, or both. (2) Instead of conducting an examination of an authorized foreign or alien insurer, the director may accept an examination report on the insurer that is prepared by the insurance department for the state of domicile or state of entry of the insurer if: (a) At the time of the examination the insurance department of the state was accredited under the Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation Program or successor program of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; or (b) The examination was performed under the supervision of an accredited insurance department or with the participation of one or more examiners who are employed by such an accredited insurance department and who, after a review of the examination work papers and report, state under oath that the examination was performed in a manner consistent with the standards and procedures required by their insurance department. (3) Examination of an alien insurer shall be limited to its insurance transactions, assets, trust deposits and affairs in the United States except as otherwise required by the director.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.302. Appointment of examiners; retaining of appraisers, actuaries and others; evidentiary status of facts and conclusions. (1) When the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services determines that an examination should be conducted, the director shall appoint one or more examiners to perform the examination and instruct them as to the scope of the examination. In conducting the examination, each examiner shall consider the guidelines and procedures in the examiner handbook, or its successor publication, adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The director may prescribe the examiner handbook or its successor publication and employ other guidelines and procedures that the director determines to be appropriate. (2) When making an examination, the director may retain appraisers, independent actuaries, independent certified public accountants or other professionals and specialists as needed. The cost of retaining such professionals and specialists shall be borne by the person that is the subject of the examination. (3) At any time during the course of an examination, the director may take other action pursuant to the Insurance Code. (4) Facts determined and conclusions made pursuant to an examination shall be presumptive evidence of the relevant facts and conclusions in any judicial or administrative action.
ORS Chapter 731 — Administration and General

ORS 731.304. Investigation of persons transacting insurance. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, whenever the director deems it advisable in the interest of policyholders or for the public good, shall investigate into the affairs of any person engaged in, proposing to engage in or claiming or advertising to engage in: (1) Transacting insurance in this state; (2) Organizing or receiving subscriptions for or disposing of the stock of or in any manner taking part in the formation or business of an insurer; or (3) Holding capital stock of one or more insurers for the purpose of controlling the management thereof as voting trustee or otherwise.