Uninsured Vehicle Study Sneaks Into Transportation Bill

Contributed by the Automobile Insurance Agents of Texas

The Automobile Insurance Agents of Texas (AIAT), which has long been a proponent of devising legislation that attempts to decrease the number of uninsured motorists on the road, reports that House Bill 3588, an omnibus transportation bill passed during the regular legislative session, provides for a study of insurance verification systems as well as a surcharge for motorists found to be driving without proof of financial responsibility.

A provision of HB 3588 amended Chapter 601 of the Transportation Code to direct the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas Department of Insurance to conduct a study on the “feasibility, affordability and practicability of using a database interface software system for verification of whether owners of motor vehicles have established financial responsibility.”

The study must find that the system: (1) is likely to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas; (2) operates reliably; (3) is cost-effective; (4) will sufficiently protect the privacy of the motor vehicle owners; and (5) will sufficiently ensure the security and integrity of each database to which it is applied.

If the study concludes that the program would meet these standards, the agencies are authorized to establish the program. The database program would be funded by a $1 fee added to motor vehicle registrations.

The study must be completed by July 1, 2004 and if DPS determines that the system should be implemented it “MAY implement the system before January 1, 2005.”

Additionally, HB 3588 allows the Texas Department of Public Safety to assess additional surcharges to an individual’s driver’s license.

Surcharges will be assessed to individuals who are convicted of driving while their license is suspended, driving without proof of financial responsibility, DWI or excessive violations. These surcharges are in addition to fines already imposed.

Each year DPS shall assess a $250 surcharge on the license of each person who during the preceding 36-month period has been convicted of driving without proof of financial responsibility.

Other surcharges included in this bill are $250 each year for driving with a suspended license, $100 surcharge for driving without a license, a $1,000 minimum surcharge for a DWI conviction (fine goes up with multiple convictions) and a $100 surcharge if an individual accumulates more than 6 points within a 36-month period, and $25 for each additional point thereafter. Two points are assigned for a moving violation or three points for a moving violation that resulted in an accident.

The revenue generated from these surcharges would go to fund trauma facility and emergency medical services (49.5 percent), the state’s General Revenue Fund (49.5 percent), and the Department of Public Safety’s driver responsibility program (1 percent). If surcharges in any fiscal year top $250 million in the General Revenue Fund, money will then be set aside for the Texas Mobility Fund.

This article appeared in the AIAT publication, “The Flagwaver” (Vol. 8, No. 2, August 2003).

Topics Texas Auto