§33-2-15b. Reports to the Legislature.

(a) By February 1, 2005, the commissioner shall submit to the Legislature a report on third party causes of action;

(b) The report shall contain the following information:

(1) The legal history of the creation of a third party causes of action brought pursuant to Unfair Trade Practices Act as codified in article eleven of this chapter;

(2) An analysis of the impact of third party causes of action upon insurance rates and the availability of insurance in this state;

(3) A summary of the types of data which the commissioner utilized in preparing the analysis: Provided, That the commissioner will not disclose information which is otherwise confidential: Provided, however, That if the commissioner is unable to obtain data which he or she considers necessary to preparing a full analysis, the commissioner shall state in the report:

(A) The reasons that he or she was not able to obtain the data;

(B) Recommendations or proposed legislation for facilitating the collection of necessary data and protecting proprietary information;

(4) Information on what other states have this cause of action;

(5) Based upon the findings of the commissioner, and if the findings so suggest, proposed legislation to address any reforms needed for third party claims under the Unfair Trade Practices Act;

(c) For purpose of preparing the report, the commissioner may request from companies authorized to conduct business in this state any information that he or she believes is necessary to determine the economic effect of third-party lawsuits on insurance premiums. The companies shall not be required to provide the information. Any information which the company agrees to provide, shall be considered confidential by law and privileged, is exempt from disclosure pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, is not open to public inspection, is not subject to subpoena, and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any criminal, private civil or administrative action and is not subject to production pursuant to court order. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, while the commissioner is to provide his or her general conclusions based upon the review of the data, the commissioner is not to disclose the information in a manner so as to violate the confidentiality provisions of this section.