Robert H. "Skip" Myers Jr., general counsel for the National Risk Retention Association, tells NU Online News Service he believes the bill "has a chance." He adds, "I think Congress is obviously tied up with really important things and we're doing what we can to move it through the process—gathering more support and speaking to people on the committees in the House and the Senate."

The bill has not been introduced in the Senate yet, he says, but "we intend to do that."

Myers says the bill is "an important piece of legislation for us." Risk-retention groups, he adds, are a small portion of the industry with about 3 percent of the premium, "but we're an important part."

H.B. 2126 builds on the captive-insurance model that allows businesses, nonprofits, hospitals and colleges to create risk-management pools for liability-insurance coverage, according to a statement.

Welch's bill would allow inclusion of commercial-property insurance coverage in these pools.

"Vermont's captive-insurance industry leads the nation in helping businesses, nonprofits, hospitals and colleges manage their risk in a cost-effective way," Welch says in a statement. "This bill will allow them to increase coverage options and ensure Vermont remains a leader in the captive industry."