Section 27-12A-7 Enforcement

(a) The enforcement of this chapter shall be vested in the Department of Insurance. It shall be the duty of the department to see that the provisions of this chapter are at all times obeyed and to take such measures and to make such investigations as will prevent or detect the violation of any provision thereof. The department may present to the Attorney General any credible evidence coming to its knowledge of criminality under this chapter. In the event of the neglect or refusal of the Attorney General to institute and prosecute the violation, the department shall be authorized to proceed therein with all the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law upon the Attorney General including the power to appear before grand juries and to interrogate witnesses before grand juries.

(b) Nothing in this article limits the power of the state to punish any person for any conduct which constitutes a crime by statute or at common law.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as state regulation of self-insured employee welfare benefit plans as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.

(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as expanding the authority of the Department of Insurance to investigate or audit the records of the sponsor or members of a sponsor group of self-insured employee welfare benefit plans as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.