TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

(a) A person who is an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a trade association in the field of insurance may not be: (1) the commissioner; or (2) an employee of the department who is exempt from the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary schedule. (b) A person who is the spouse of an officer, manager, or paid consultant of a trade association in the field of insurance may not be: (1) the commissioner; or (2) an employee of the department who is exempt from the state's position classification plan or is compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group A17, of the position classification salary schedule. (c) In this section, "trade association" means a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined association of business or professional competitors designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their common interest.