STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 54th Legislature (2013)

SENATE BILL 701	By:	Holt

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to motor vehicle insurance; amending 47 O.S. 2011, Section 7-600.2, which relates to verification of coverage; specifying duty of law enforcement officer; providing for temporary license plate; specifying duty of motor vehicle operator; specifying duties of Insurance Department, Oklahoma Tax Commission and Department of Public Safety; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     47 O.S. 2011, Section 7-600.2, is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-600.2.  A.  The Department of Public Safety shall promulgate and adopt, pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, rules for an online verification system for motor vehicle liability policies as required by the Compulsory Insurance Law, subject to the following:
1.  The Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Insurance Department shall cooperate with the Department of Public Safety in the development of the verification system;
2.  The verification system shall be accessible through the Internet, World Wide Web or a similar proprietary or common carrier electronic system by authorized personnel of the Department, the Tax Commission, the courts, law enforcement personnel, and any other entities authorized by the Department;
3.  The verification system shall provide for direct inquiry and response between the Department and insurance carriers, or such other method of inquiry and response as agreed to by the Department and individual insurance carriers, and direct access to insurers' records by personnel authorized by the Department;
4.  The verification system shall be available twenty-four (24) hours a day to verify the insurance status of any vehicle registered in this state through the vehicle's identification number, policy number, registered owner's name or other identifying characteristic or marker as prescribed by the Department in its rules;
5.  The Department may contract with a private vendor to assist in establishing and maintaining the verification system;
6.  The verification system shall include appropriate provisions, consistent with industry standards, to secure its data against unauthorized access and to maintain a record of all information requests;
7.  Information contained in the verification system shall not be considered a public record;
8.  Any law enforcement officer, to establish compliance with the Compulsory Insurance Law during a traffic stop or accident investigation, shall access information from the online verification system to verify the current validity of the policy described on a security verification form produced by the operator of each motor vehicle during the traffic stop or accident investigation.  If compliance is not confirmed for the policy described on the security verification form produced by the operator and a subsequent investigation conducted by the officer verifies that the operator is not in compliance or if no security verification form is produced, the officer shall issue a citation to the operator for failure to comply with the Compulsory Insurance Law and shall immediately take possession of the license plate of the vehicle being operated, as provided in Section 2 of this act.  Establishing compliance with the Compulsory Insurance Law through the online verification system shall not be the primary cause for law enforcement to stop a motor vehicle; and
9.  All information exchanged between the Department and insurance companies, any database created, and all reports, responses, or other information generated for the purposes of the verification system shall not be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
B.  This section shall not apply to a policy issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of subsection A of Section 7-601.1 of this title or paragraph 3 of subsection A of Section 7-602 of this title to insure a commercial motor vehicle or to insure any vehicle under a commercial policy that provides commercial auto coverage as defined in Section 7-600 of this title.
C.  As a condition for writing motor vehicle liability policies in this state, insurance carriers shall cooperate with the Department in establishing and maintaining the insurance verification system and shall provide access to motor vehicle insurance policy status information as provided in the rules of the Department.
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 7-600.3 of Title 47, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Upon a law enforcement officer taking possession of a license plate as provided in paragraph 8 of subsection A of Section 7-600.2 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the officer shall provide a temporary license plate to the operator of the vehicle.  Such license plate shall be valid for a maximum of five (5) business days, during which time the operator of the vehicle shall be required to:
1.  Secure and provide evidence of motor vehicle liability insurance as required by law;
2.  Pay any fine or court costs associated with the citation issued; and
3.  Pay the cost of insurance coverage as determined by the Insurance Department during such period that the vehicle was not properly insured as required by law.
The Insurance Department, the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Department of Public Safety shall administer and implement the provisions of this section.
SECTION 3.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2013.

54-1-1013	GL	1/16/2013 8:19:02 PM