HBA-CMT H.B. 13 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 13 By: Corte Civil Practices 4/23/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires that all drivers have proof of financial responsibility. This proof must be provided in order to renew a driver's license, have a car inspected, or register a car. However, many drivers are circumventing the law by purchasing liability insurance in order to renew a license or have a car inspected and then canceling the insurance. The penalties for uninsured motorists are relatively minor and have done little to ensure compliance with state law. House Bill 13 limits the amount of recovery a driver can receive for automobile injuries if the driver was not able to show proof of financial responsibility at the time of the accident, and if an uninsured or intoxicated driver is involved in an accident, regardless of fault, the driver, can only recover economic damages. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of insurance in SECTION 1 (Section 92.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 13 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to prohibit a person from obtaining noneconomic damages or exemplary damages in a civil action for bodily injury, death, or damage to or destruction of property arising out of a motor vehicle accident if the person was at the time of the accident operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and is convicted of an offense of or relating to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, or the person was knowingly operating the motor vehicle in this state without established financial responsibility for the vehicle. This provision does not apply to a person without financial responsibility if the person was injured by another person who was at the time of the accident operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and convicted of an offense of or relating to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The provision that a person may not obtain noneconomic or exemplary damages applies to a claim for damages made by a person whose right to recovery derives from an injury to another person whose right to recovery would be barred under the provisions of this bill, including a claim for wrongful death or for loss of consortium or companionship. The bill clarifies that the provision does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary damages for a wilful act or omission or gross neglect in a wrongful death action brought by or on behalf of a surviving spouse or heirs of the decedent's body. H. B. 13 requires each insurer that issues a motor vehicle insurance policy in this state to notify the person to whom the policy is issued of the liability and damages provisions of this bill. The notice of these requirements must be made at the time the policy is initially issued and at any time coverage under the policy is terminated. The commissioner of insurance by rule shall adopt the form and content of the required notice. H. B. 13 also requires the Department of Public Safety to post notice of the liability and damages provisions of this bill. The bill requires a person who offers a driving safety course to notify each student in writing of the liability and damages provisions of this bill. The bill does not prohibit a person who was operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility or while intoxicated from acting in a representative capacity to bring suit on behalf of another person injured in the accident, as next friend or otherwise. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage.