In Texas, chairmanship of the House Insurance Committee could be up for grabs.
Current Chairman, John Frullo, R-Lubbock, has a challenger in the Republican Party primary in former State Rep. Jim Landtroop, and in this part of Texas winning the Republican nomination is akin to winning the election.
Landtroop is running on a platform of being as conservative as possible, saying that while he served in the past, he was rated as the 4th most conservative member of the House. Frullo, though, claims to be as conservative as Landtroop—or anyone else, and points to his voting record to prove it.
The Insurance Committee is a big deal in Texas, where since he became chairman of the committee, it has reviewed nearly 200 bills. If Texas was a country, it would have the 10th largest insurance market in the world.
“That’s important because I have a say in what happens,” Frullo told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. He said his impact on insurance legislation in Texas is “huge.”
The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas doesn’t endorse candidates for office, but government affairs director Lee Loftis said Frullo has been fair to the industry. “When we need to talk to him about something, he is accessible. He is always available to us, and that is all we can ask, really. He’s been a very good chairman.”
