Released: March 24, 2008

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced today that former State Representative Shirley Bowler of Harahan will take over the vacant position of Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Management and Finance in the Department of Insurance. Bowler’s appointment becomes effective on March 24, 2008.

Citing her vast legislative experience, Donelon says Bowler is a great fit to help manage the day-to-day operations of the Department of Insurance. “I served in the Legislature with Shirley for nine years. She knows insurance, having served as an outspoken member of the House Insurance Committee, and she knows how government works,” Donelon says. “Shirley is a welcome addition to my executive staff and I look forward to working with her once again.” Donelon also notes that Bowler was an active member of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators for 12 years, where she served on the group’s executive committee and as chairwoman of the Property & Casualty Committee. Bowler also spent 15 years as a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Bowler believes working with Commissioner Donelon in her new capacity will be a valuable experience. “Jim and I have spent years working together on insurance issues so I am looking forward to not only helping him manage the Insurance Department, but also in continuing to solve some of our state’s insurance problems.”

While serving as a state legislator from 1992 until December 2007, Bowler was a member of the House Committees on Insurance, Civil Law & Procedure and Labor & Industrial Relations, and vice chairwoman of the House Legislative Services Council. Bowler has been a writer and editor with the Texas Surplus Line Reporter & Insurance News since 1996.

Bowler received numerous honors while a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 1999 she was named Legislator of the Year by the Louisiana Business Group of Health. In 2000 the American Academy of Pediatrics gave her the Distinguished Service Award and in 2001 she was honored as Policymaker of the Year by the National Association of Surety Bond Producers. Bowler also garnered the Economic Development Champion Award in 2003 from the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce. She was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 2004.