Bill to change Insurance Commissioner from elected to appointed passes out of Senate committee

• Current Commissioner Mike Chaney is advocating for the change this session, saying it’s needed to “take politics out of the regulatory business.”

Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Walter Michel’s bill that would make the statewide elected office of Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance an appointed position under the Governor’s purview could soon be taken up on the chamber floor.

The statewide elected positions of Commissioner of Insurance and Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce are not codified in the Mississippi Constitution, meaning they are subject to the will of the Legislature and would not require a vote of the public to make the change.

Current Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney (R) suggested the change to the office when he first ran for the post in 2007. Now at 81 years old and with just under three years left in his fifth term, Chaney ramped up his advocacy late last year in hopes that legislative leaders would make the change at the end of his term.

READ MORE: Insurance Commissioner Chaney urging lawmakers to change statewide elected post to appointed by term’s end

Senator Michel’s bill does just that, stating no person would be appointed to the position until the term of the present elected Commissioner of Insurance ends or the office is vacated, whichever comes first.

The legislation outlines that a gubernatorial appointee, with advice and consent of the Senate, would be eligible for a six-year term in the position and must be a resident of Mississippi, at least 30 years of age, hold a bachelor’s degree, and “shall be selected with special reference to his training, experience, technical knowledge of the insurance industry and risk management, and demonstrated administrative and management ability.”

To be considered for the post, an appointed Commissioner cannot be connected with the management or control of any company or corporation affected by the position, nor can the Commissioner hold any public office.

“If he becomes a candidate for public office, his office as commissioner shall be immediately vacated,” the bill reads.

Commissioner Chaney spoke with Magnolia Tribune in October about the proposed change.

“If you read the statute, the statute says that my job is to make certain that companies are solvent, that they can pay a valid claim, and the other part of it is to take care of the consumers of the state. If you’re in doubt, you really take care of the consumer. So, to do all of those things, it’s extremely complicated,” Chaney said in an interview. “And the longer I’ve been around, I understand why 44 states and territories appoint their Commissioners and 12 elect their Commissioners.”

Commissioner Chaney went on to say that the bottom-line is, “when you look at it, you take politics out of the regulatory business, and if you can do that you end up trying to run the industry like it needs to be run.”

In Mississippi, the Insurance Commissioner is also the State Fire Marshal. He told Magnolia Tribune that after thoroughly considering the prospect of dividing the two roles, he thinks the two should stay combined. Michel’s bill does not address this point.

No change was listed in Senator Michel’s bill as to the Commissioner’s salary, which currently stands at $150,000. Lawmakers raised the pay rates for statewide officials during the 2022 session. The new pay scales went into effect at the start of this term, with the Commissioner of Insurance seeing a $60,000 increase.

In nearly 50 years, Mississippi has only had two Insurance Commissioners. George Dale, a Democrat, served for 32 years before he retired in 2007 as the longest serving Insurance Commissioner in the nation. When he was elected, he was the youngest person elected to the office in state history. Chaney, who won the position in 2007 after having served in the Legislature for 14 years, has held the office ever since.

Perhaps the two most notable instances where incumbent elected officials have lobbied for their positions to be switched from being elected to appointed involved Democrats William Winter and John Ed Ainsworth. Winter, a Democrat, successfully lobbied for the position of Tax Collector, which he held, to be shifted from elected to appointed in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Ainsworth, also Democrat, successfully advocated for his office as Land Commissioner to be appointed instead of elected. Both were legislatively changed.

Chaney told Magnolia Tribune previously that he’s not planning to seek a sixth term and hopes he “doesn’t have to.”

Senator Michel’s bill – SB 2024 – passed out of his committee on Thursday. Over in the House. State Rep. Jerry Turner (R) has filed a similar bill – HB 1180 – but it has been double referred to both the House Apportionment and Elections Committee as well as the House State Affairs Committee. Notably, Turner is the chairman of the House Insurance Committee.