(1) (a) For the purpose of providing adequate funds to the Colorado department of law for the investigation and prosecution of allegations of insurance fraud, in addition to any other fee collected pursuant to section 10-3-207 (1), C.R.S., each entity regulated by the division of insurance shall pay to the division a nonrefundable annual fee. Based upon the appropriations made to the department of law from the insurance fraud cash fund and the recommendation of the attorney general, the commissioner of insurance shall set the fee so that the revenue generated from the fee approximates the direct and indirect costs of the investigation and prosecution of allegations of insurance fraud. The fee shall not exceed three thousand dollars and is payable on or before March 1 of each year.
(b) The commissioner of insurance shall establish a tiered fee schedule that sets the annual fee required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) based upon the prior year's direct written premiums, gross contract funds, or charges received in Colorado by each regulated entity. The regulated entities with direct written premiums, gross contract funds, or charges received in Colorado in excess of one million dollars shall pay one fee, and the regulated entities with one million dollars or less shall pay a lesser fee.
The division of insurance shall transmit fees collected pursuant to subsection (1) ofthis section to the state treasurer for deposit in the insurance fraud cash fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund consists of fees collected pursuant to this section and any other moneys deposited into the fund. Interest derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The moneys in the fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department of law for use in investigating and prosecuting allegations of insurance fraud. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year remain in the fund and do not revert to the general fund.
Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the attorney general shall provide annual reports to the joint budget committee, the senate business, labor, and technology committee, and the house economic and business development committee, or any successor committees, and shall post on the attorney general's website a statistical report of the number of full-time employees dedicated to insurance fraud, referrals, open investigations, convictions, arrests, and actions initiated, and the number of restitutions, fines, costs, and forfeitures obtained, from the investigation and prosecution of insurance fraud as provided in this section. In the report, the attorney general shall make his or her best effort to delineate between the types of cases prosecuted by line of insurance.
Source: L. 2012: Entire section added, (SB 12-110), ch. 158, p. 559, § 1, effective July
L. 2017: (3) amended, (SB 17-233), ch. 175, p. 637, § 2, effective August 9.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 10-3-207.5 as it existed prior to 2012.