State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood , sent the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association a new request for information about cases related to Hurricane Ike after a judge expressed concern that an earlier request sought private information.
Last week, Taylor sent the association, the insurer of last resort for property owners in coastal areas, a letter asking for detailed information about each case in a $189 million settlement agreement that the association reached over the summer with more than 2,000 property owners hit by Hurricane Ike. His inquiry included several questions about attorney fees.
The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in the settlement was Steve Mostyn, perhaps the most prolific donor in the Texas Democratic Party. Mostyn, arguing that Taylor was seeking private information about the property owners, asked a Galveston County judge to grant a temporary restraining order that would block the agency from responding to Taylor's request. The judge granted that order Monday.
Taylor has said he was trying to get information for a report that's in the works from a legislative committee overseeing windstorm insurance issues. Taylor is the co-chairman of that committee.
On Friday, Taylor sent a new letter. He expressly said in the new request that he was not seeking private information about property owners involved in the settlement.
"I am not seeking any confidential information relating to any individual or corporate policyholder, such as names, personal addresses, social security numbers, or other such personally identifiable information," Taylor says in his new request. He withdrew his earlier request.
Mostyn called Taylor's request bizarre. Because Taylor's latest letter is an open-records request that any citizen can file, privacy laws will prevent him from getting much of the information he's requesting. If Taylor wants the information for legislative purposes, Mostyn said, he should bring it before the windstorm oversight committee and ask the full committee to endorse his request.
House Insurance Committee Chairman John Smithee, R-Amarillo, said he thought Taylor's request was valid, although he said he had found much of the information Taylor is seeking through news accounts online.
"The dollars are designed to put roofs back on houses and fix windows," Smithee said. "We need to know why we had this many lawsuits and why they were settled."
Smithee noted that the windstorm insurance association's costs are subsidized by policyholders in other parts of the state
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