Insurance commissioner takes controversial stands ahead of confirmation
With more than half of the legislative session in the rearview mirror, Texas’ insurance commissioner isn’t spending much time trying to win over state senators — even though she needs their support to keep her job.
Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman, who was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in the interim between legislative sessions, must receive the blessing of two-thirds of the Texas Senate within the next two months. But the commissioner, known for being tough and terse, has taken a couple of controversial stands lately that aren’t winning her any friends.
In recent weeks, she has pursued an investigation of a Texas life insurance company doing business in Brazil, a fight that some Republicans say she didn’t need to pick. And she has pushed for taking over the state’s insurer of last resort for coastal properties, angering some Democrats who fear that consumers won’t be fairly compensated for hurricane losses.
With Kitzman’s confirmation languishing in the Senate Nominations committee, most senators refused to talk publicly about the commissioner or the process, but interviews with more than a dozen people connected to the process paint a picture of the challenges facing Kitzman.
More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/insurance-commissioner-takes-controversial-stands-/nXCCZ/ .