77R14977 AJA-F
By Bivins, et al. S.B. No. 1329
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1329:
By Smithee C.S.S.B. No. 1329
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to compliance with proof of financial responsibility
1-3 requirements for the operation of a motor vehicle.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 ARTICLE 1. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
1-6 SECTION 1.01. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
1-7 (1) "Department" means the Texas Department of
1-8 Transportation.
1-9 (2) "Verification date" means the date on which the
1-10 department mails a written request to an owner of a motor vehicle
1-11 requiring the owner to state whether the owner has established
1-12 financial responsibility in accordance with Section 601.051,
1-13 Transportation Code.
1-14 SECTION 1.02. VERIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL
1-15 RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH RANDOM SAMPLING. (a) Between September 1,
1-16 2001, and January 1, 2003, the department or an agent of the
1-17 department shall randomly select samples of registrations of motor
1-18 vehicles subject to Chapter 601, Transportation Code, or samples of
1-19 owners of motor vehicles subject to Chapter 601, Transportation
1-20 Code, to verify whether the owner has established financial
1-21 responsibility in accordance with Section 601.051, Transportation
1-22 Code. The Department of Public Safety shall provide the department
1-23 access to any information that will allow the department to comply
1-24 with this subsection.
2-1 (b) A sample selected under this section may not be
2-2 classified on the basis of the owner's race, color, religion, sex,
2-3 national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental
2-4 disability, economic status, or geographic location.
2-5 (c) In addition to the general random sampling of motor
2-6 vehicle registrations, the department may randomly select other
2-7 persons who own a registered motor vehicle to verify that the
2-8 person has established financial responsibility, including:
2-9 (1) a person who, during the four years preceding the
2-10 date of selection, has been convicted of a violation of Section
2-11 601.191 or 601.195, Transportation Code, or Section 601.196,
2-12 Transportation Code, as it existed before repeal, including a
2-13 violation that occurred while the person was operating a motor
2-14 vehicle owned by another person; or
2-15 (2) a person whose driver's license or motor vehicle
2-16 registration has been suspended during the preceding four years.
2-17 (d) The department shall send to the owner of a randomly
2-18 selected motor vehicle, or to a randomly selected motor vehicle
2-19 owner, a request for information about the motor vehicle and the
2-20 owner's method of establishing financial responsibility. The
2-21 request must request that the owner state whether the owner has, as
2-22 of the verification date, established financial responsibility in
2-23 accordance with Section 601.051, Transportation Code.
2-24 (e) The department:
2-25 (1) shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this
2-26 article; and
2-27 (2) by rule shall:
3-1 (A) establish the frequency of sample selection;
3-2 and
3-3 (B) prescribe:
3-4 (i) the methods employed for the random
3-5 selection of samples and the procedures necessary for
3-6 implementation of the verification process, including the method of
3-7 sending the verification request, which may include certified mail,
3-8 return receipt requested;
3-9 (ii) the form for verification of
3-10 financial responsibility; and
3-11 (iii) the information to be requested in
3-12 the prescribed form.
3-13 (f) The department may request that the information provided
3-14 by the owner include a statement by the owner that the owner had,
3-15 as of the verification date, established financial responsibility:
3-16 (1) through liability insurance under Subchapter D,
3-17 Chapter 601, Transportation Code, including:
3-18 (A) the name and address of the insurer;
3-19 (B) the number of the insurance policy; and
3-20 (C) the expiration date of the insurance
3-21 coverage;
3-22 (2) by filing a surety bond with the Department of
3-23 Public Safety under Section 601.121, Transportation Code,
3-24 including:
3-25 (A) the name and address of the company issuing
3-26 the bond;
3-27 (B) the identification number of the bond; and
4-1 (C) the expiration date of the bond;
4-2 (3) by depositing cash or securities with the
4-3 comptroller under Section 601.122, Transportation Code, including a
4-4 copy of the certificate issued by the comptroller showing
4-5 compliance;
4-6 (4) by depositing cash or a cashier's check with the
4-7 county judge of the county in which the motor vehicle is registered
4-8 under Section 601.123, Transportation Code, including a copy of the
4-9 certificate issued by the county judge showing compliance; or
4-10 (5) through self-insurance under Section 601.124,
4-11 Transportation Code, including a copy of the certificate of
4-12 self-insurance issued by the Department of Public Safety.
4-13 (g) Not later than the 30th day after the verification date,
4-14 the owner to whom the notice is sent shall furnish the requested
4-15 information to the department in the form prescribed by the
4-16 department, accompanied by the owner's signed affirmation that the
4-17 information is true and correct.
4-18 (h) If the owner responds to the request for information by
4-19 asserting that the owner had, as of the verification date,
4-20 established financial responsibility in accordance with a method
4-21 authorized by Section 601.051, Transportation Code, the department
4-22 may conduct a verification investigation as provided by Section
4-23 1.03 of this article.
4-24 SECTION 1.03. VERIFICATION INVESTIGATION. (a) To verify a
4-25 response received from an owner under Section 1.02 of this article,
4-26 the department or an agent of the department may furnish necessary
4-27 information to the insurer, surety, or officer named in the
5-1 response. Not later than the 30th day after the date of receipt of
5-2 the information, the insurer, surety, or officer shall inform the
5-3 department whether, as of the verification date, financial
5-4 responsibility had been established for the affected motor vehicle
5-5 in accordance with Section 601.051, Transportation Code. An
5-6 insurer who does not comply with this subsection is subject to an
5-7 administrative penalty under Chapter 84, Insurance Code.
5-8 (b) If the response received from an owner under Section
5-9 1.02 of this article states that financial responsibility has been
5-10 established through self-insurance, the department shall examine
5-11 the records of the Department of Public Safety to verify that a
5-12 certificate of self-insurance has been issued in accordance with
5-13 Section 601.124, Transportation Code.
5-14 SECTION 1.04. REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. On or before January
5-15 30, 2003, the department shall submit a report to the lieutenant
5-16 governor and the speaker of the house of representatives that
5-17 details the results of the sampling conducted under this article.
5-18 SECTION 1.05. EXPIRATION. This article expires September 1,
5-19 2003.
5-20 ARTICLE 2. PROOF OF INSURANCE CARDS
5-21 SECTION 2.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 5, Insurance Code, is
5-22 amended by adding Article 5.06-7 to read as follows:
5-23 Art. 5.06-7. FORM AND APPEARANCE OF PROOF OF MOTOR VEHICLE
5-24 LIABILITY INSURANCE. (a) The commissioner shall prescribe by rule
5-25 a standard appearance and form for a card issued by an insurer as
5-26 proof of motor vehicle liability insurance prescribed by Section
5-27 601.081, Transportation Code.
6-1 (b) In prescribing the appearance of a proof of motor
6-2 vehicle liability insurance card under Subsection (a) of this
6-3 article, the commissioner shall require an appearance that is:
6-4 (1) difficult to alter, duplicate, or counterfeit; and
6-5 (2) not cost-prohibitive for consumers.
6-6 (c) A card issued as proof of motor vehicle liability
6-7 insurance issued in this state by an insurer must conform to the
6-8 form and appearance prescribed under Subsection (a) of this
6-9 article.
6-10 SECTION 2.02. (a) The commissioner of insurance shall
6-11 prescribe the standard appearance and form of proof of motor
6-12 vehicle liability insurance cards as required by Article 5.06-7,
6-13 Insurance Code, as added by this article, not later than December
6-14 1, 2001.
6-15 (b) A card issued by an insurer as proof of motor vehicle
6-16 liability insurance that is issued on or after January 1, 2002,
6-17 must conform with rules established by the commissioner of
6-18 insurance under Article 5.06-7, Insurance Code, as added by this
6-19 article. Proof of motor vehicle liability insurance that is issued
6-20 before January 1, 2002, is governed by the law as it existed
6-21 immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
6-22 continued in effect for that purpose.
6-23 ARTICLE 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
6-24 SECTION 3.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.