PRESS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009

HUNTER APPOINTED TO WINDSTORM INSURANCE OVERSIGHT BOARD

AUSTIN -- State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, was named Friday to the Windstorm Insurance Legislative Oversight Board by Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
The new board was set up as a part of windstorm reform legislation passed by the Texas Legislature this year and signed by Gov. Rick Perry at a ceremonial signing in Corpus Christi.  The committee will consist of four House members appointed by the Speaker and four senators appointed by the lieutenant governor.
Straus said in a letter to Hunter that he and other committee members would “be responsible for monitoring windstorm insurance adequacy rates, the operation of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the availability of coverage.”
“Additionally, your responsibilities will include reviewing recommendations for legislation proposed by the Texas Department of Insurance,” Straus stated in his announcement of Hunter’s appointment.
Hunter, who chairs the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, and was a member of the Conference Committee that hashed out details of final windstorm legislation was called a hero of windstorm reform by Gov. Rick Perry when he signed the bill in Corpus Christi in June.
"Every day he moved it back into the forefront,” said Perry, who noted that the reforms would help make insurance available and affordable to people along the Texas coast. “Even when the wheels had come off he (Hunter) put them back on.  He cobbled a bill.  He got it passed.”
Hunter said he was honored to have served on the conference committee but was especially happy to be named to the board that will have oversight on how those reforms are put into effect.
"Windstorm reform was an economic issue, a family issue and a personal issue for me,” Hunter said. “We did not need legislation that would have been punitive to coastal residents and businesses. This committee will be the watchdog to ensure that the reforms included in this bill are implemented fairly for all the people of Texas.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Ray
Steve Ray Associates
Box 1377
Austin, TX 78767
OFFICE: 512-284-8196
CELL: 512-803-0229
www.steverayassociates.com

Steve Ray Associates is a full-service communications, public affairs and public relations company located in Austin, Texas. Our principal Steve Ray is a 25-year veteran of Texas journalism and served as Capitol Bureau Chief for Scripps Howard and Harte Hanks newspapers before he was named Deputy Executive Director of Information and Planning at the Texas Department of Economic Development. In 2001, Ray formed his own company where he has assisted numerous nonprofits, corporations, legislators and coalitions with their communications needs. In 2008 Ray was named the state’s best political consultant by Capitol Inside newsletter.