SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1797

90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

O'TOOLE AND KING.

Read 1^st time January 27, 2000, and 1000 copies ordered printed.

ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk

3914L.02I

AN ACT

To repeal sections 303.406 and 303.409, RSMo Supp. 1999, relating to the motorist insurance identification database, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions.

Section A. Sections 303.406 and 303.409, RSMo Supp. 1999, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 303.406 and 303.409, to read as follows:

303.406. 1. The "Motorist Insurance Identification Database" is hereby created for the purpose of establishing a database to use to verify compliance with the motor vehicle financial responsibility requirements of this chapter. The program shall be administered by the department and shall receive funding from the "Motorist Insurance Identification Database Fund", which is hereby created in the state treasury. The state treasurer shall credit to and deposit in the motorist insurance identification database fund six percent of all amounts received from collections of the insurance premiums tax levied and collected pursuant to sections 148.310 to 148.461, RSMo. Moneys in the fund shall be used solely for the purpose of funding the motorist insurance identification database created pursuant to sections 303.400 to 303.415.

2. To implement the program, the department may by January 1, 2001, contract with a designated agent which shall monitor compliance with the motor vehicle financial responsibility requirements of this chapter, except that the program shall not be implemented to notify owners of registered motor vehicles until the department certifies that the accuracy rate of the program exceeds ninety-five percent in correctly identifying owners of registered motor vehicles as having maintained or failed to maintain financial responsibility. After the department has entered into a contract with a designated agent, the department shall convene a working group for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of the program.

3. The designated agent, using its own computer network, shall, no later than July 1, 2001, develop and maintain a computer database with information provided by:

(1) Insurers, pursuant to sections 303.400 to 303.415; except that, any person who qualifies as self-insured pursuant to this chapter, or provides proof of insurance to the director pursuant to the provisions of section 303.160, shall not be required to provide information to the designated agent; and

(2) The department, which shall provide the designated agent with the name, date of birth and address of all persons in its computer database, and the make, year and vehicle identification number of all registered motor vehicles.

4. The department shall establish guidelines for the designated agent's development of the computer database so the database can be easily accessed by state and local law enforcement agencies within procedures already established, and shall not require additional computer keystrokes or other additional procedures by dispatch or law enforcement personnel. Once the database is operational, the designated agent shall, at least monthly, update the database with information provided by insurers and the department, and compare then-current motor vehicle registrations against the database.

5. Information provided to the designated agent by insurers and the department for inclusion in the database established pursuant to this section is the property of the insurer of the department, as the case may be, and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to chapter 610, RSMo. Such information may not be disclosed except as follows:

(1) The designated agent shall verify a person's insurance coverage upon request by any state or local government agency investigating, litigating or enforcing such person's compliance with the motor vehicle financial responsibility requirements of this chapter;

(2) The department shall disclose whether an individual is maintaining the required insurance coverage upon request of the following individuals and agencies only:

(a) The individual;

(b) The parent or legal guardian of an individual if the individual is an unemancipated minor;

(c) The legal guardian of the individual if the individual is legally incapacitated;

(d) Any person who has power of attorney from the individual;

(e) Any person who submits a notarized release from the individual that is dated no more than ninety days before the request is made;

(f) Any person claiming loss or injury in a motor vehicle accident in which the individual is involved;

(g) The office of the state auditor, for the purpose of conducting any audit authorized by law.

6. Any person or agency who knowingly discloses information from the database for any purpose, or to a person, other than those authorized in this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. The state shall not be liable to any person for gathering, managing or using information in the database pursuant to this section. The designated agent shall not be liable to any person for performing its duties pursuant to this section unless and to the extent such agent commits a willful and wanton act or omission. The designated agent shall be liable to any insurer damaged by the designated agent's negligent failure to protect the confidentiality of the information and data disclosed by the insurer to the designated agent. The designated agent shall provide to this state an errors and omissions insurance policy covering such agent in an appropriate amount. No insurer shall be liable to any person for performing its duties pursuant to this section unless and to the extent the insurer commits a willful and wanton act of omission.

7. The department shall review the operation and performance of the motorist insurance identification database program to determine whether the number of uninsured motorists have declined during the first three years following implementation and shall submit a report of its findings to the general assembly no later than December thirty-first of the year following the third complete year of implementation. The department shall make copies of its report available to each member of the general assembly. This subsection shall expire after the report provided for in this subsection has been made available.

8. This section shall not supersede other actions or penalties that may be taken or imposed for violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility requirements of this chapter.

9. The working group as provided for in subsection 2 of this section shall consist of representatives from the insurance industry, department of insurance, department of public safety and the department of revenue. The director of revenue, after consultation with the working group, shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to administer and enforce this section. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo.

10. Unless the review conducted by the department and reported to the general assembly as provided in this section indicates a decline in the number of uninsured motorist claims reported, this section is subject to repeal by the general assembly.

303.409. 1. If the motorist insurance identification database indicates the owner of a registered motor vehicle has, regardless of the owner's operation of such motor vehicle, failed to maintain the financial responsibility required in section 303.025 for two consecutive months, the designated agent shall on behalf of the director inform the owner that the director will suspend the owner's vehicle registration if the owner does not present proof of insurance as prescribed by the director within thirty days from the date of mailing. The notice issued to the vehicle owner by the designated agent shall be sent to the last known address shown on the department's records. The notice is deemed received three days after mailing. The notice of suspension shall clearly specify the reason and statutory grounds for the suspension and the effective date of the suspension, the right of the person to request a hearing, the procedure for requesting a hearing and the date by which that request for a hearing must be made. The suspension shall become effective thirty days after the subject person is deemed to have received the notice of suspension by [certified] first class mail as provided in section 303.041. If the request for a hearing is received prior to the effective date of the suspension, the effective date of the suspension will be stayed until a final order is issued following the hearing; however, any delay in the hearing which is caused or requested by the subject person or counsel representing that person without good cause shown shall not result in a stay of the suspension during the period of delay.

2. Neither the fact that, subsequent to the date of verification, the owner acquired the required liability insurance policy nor the fact that the owner terminated ownership of the motor vehicle shall have any bearing upon the director's decision to suspend. The suspension shall remain in force until termination despite the renewal of registration or acquisition of a new registration for the motor vehicle. The suspension shall also apply to any motor vehicle to which the owner transfers the registration.

3. Upon receipt of notification from the designated agent, the director shall suspend the owner's vehicle registration effective immediately. The suspension period shall be as follows:

(1) If the person's record shows no prior violation, the director shall terminate the suspension upon payment of a reinstatement fee of twenty dollars and submission of proof of insurance, as prescribed by the director;

(2) If the person's record shows one prior violation for failure to maintain financial responsibility within the immediately preceding two years, the director shall terminate the suspension ninety days after its effective date upon payment of a reinstatement fee of two hundred dollars and submission of proof of insurance, as prescribed by the director;

(3) If the person's record shows two or more prior violations for failure to maintain financial responsibility, the period of suspension shall terminate one year after its effective date upon payment of a reinstatement fee of four hundred dollars and submission of proof of insurance, as prescribed by the director.

4. In the event that proof of insurance as prescribed by the director has not been filed with the department of revenue in accordance with this chapter prior to the end of the period of suspension provided in this section, such period of suspension shall be extended until such proof of insurance has been filed. In no event shall filing proof of insurance reduce any period of suspension. If proof of insurance is not maintained during the three-year period following the reinstatement or termination of the suspension, the director shall again suspend the license and motor vehicle registration until proof of insurance is filed or the three-year period has elapsed. In no event shall filing proof of insurance reduce any period of suspension.

Missouri House of Representatives