SEC.___. MULTI-STATE LICENSING AND INTERSTATE INSURANCE SALES ACTIVITIES.

(a) FINDINGS. -- Congress finds that --

(1) the States regulate the business of insurance, including the licensing of insurance agents and brokers;

(2) the current state insurance licensing system requires insurance agents and brokers to obtain licenses on a line-by-line, class-by-class, producer-by-producer, state-by-state basis;

(3) in the commercial/industrial insurance arena, this state-based system usually requires a single agent or broker to hold scores of licenses if that agent or broker intends to sell or broker insurance on a nationwide basis;

(4) because of the duplicative licensing requirements both within and across States, a single insurance agent or broker must satisfy literally hundreds of administrative filing requirements to become fully licensed to engage in the sale of a full range of insurance products on a nationwide basis;

(5) these administrative requirements appears to be essentially unrelated to any requisite standards of professionalism;

(6) many States also impose certain requirements on insurance agents and brokers that pose an undue, discriminatory burden on non-resident agents, including some States that ban solicitation of insurance clients by non-resident agents and brokers;

(7) in addition, many States also impose anti-competitive post-licensure requirements on non-resident agents and brokers including countersignature laws that require an agent or broker servicing the needs of an out-of-state client to have any insurance policy that is sold "countersigned" by a resident agent;

(8) in some cases, such countersignature laws also require a non-resident agent or broker to pay at least half of any commission earned in a State in which the agent or broker is not a resident agent or broker;

(9) such duplicative and onerous filing requirements and anti-competitive burdens inhibit interstate commerce, constitute unjustifiable trade barriers, greatly undermine the competition that the Financial Services Modernization Act seeks to foster; and

(10) The Association (NARAB) shall be subject to the supervision and oversight of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners."

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS. -- It is the sense of the Congress that, by the end of the 36-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the State should: (i) implement uniform insurance agent and broker licensing application and qualification requirements that result in a fully reciprocal licensing system; and (ii) eliminate any pre- and post-licensure requirements that have the practical effect of discriminating, directly or indirectly, against non-resident insurance agents or brokers. If such actions are not taken, Congress shall take steps to directly rectify the problems identified in subsection (a).