Mississippi Senate: No car insurance, no car tag

meridianstar.com/ ^ | MArch 12, 04 | from staff and wire reports

[WKB]

March 12, 2004

JACKSON — Motorists without liability insurance would be denied vehicle tags under a proposal that passed the Mississippi Senate on Thursday.

Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, said the proposal is just one more way to protect uninsured motorists.

The bill would require residents to present proof of insurance when they purchase or renew car tags at their local tax collector’s office. If they don’t have insurance, they wouldn’t receive a tag.

People who present fraudulent insurance information would face a $500 fine and up to one year in jail, Kirby said. The bill, which passed 45-7, now goes to the state House where it has died in the past.

Vicki Gray of Lauderdale County, who bought a car tag on Thursday, said she agrees with the Senate proposal.

“I think it is a really good idea that people have to have insurance or be able to prove that they have insurance before they get their tag,” Gray said.

“It is a really good idea that people have to have at least liability insurance. I don’t think that they should be required to carry full coverage because a lot of people couldn’t afford it.

“But I do believe that people should be responsible if they are in a wreck to pay for someone else’s vehicle.”

Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, initially sought to require proof of insurance at roadblocks when he introduced the bill. Kirby said the bill was amended in committee.

Presently, a law enforcement officer could require a motorist to show proof of insurance if that motorist is stopped for another infraction, such as speeding.

That law “has no teeth in it,” said Sen. Billy Hewes III, R-Gulfport.

“There’s nothing really to have people abide by the law. This is something that has been talked about for a number of years,” Hewes said.

Hewes said the proposed law doesn’t put any extra burden on clerks.

Warren County Tax Collector Pat Simrall said she and other members of the Mississippi Assessors and Collectors Association would like to have more input in the proposed legislation.

Simrall said some motorists will just decide not to get a tag, translating into lost revenue for the county.

“Proof of insurance is a good thing, but let’s do something that is workable,” Simrall said.

The Mississippi Insurance Department has received several complaints from motorists who have been hit by uninsured motorists, said Lee Harrell, deputy insurance commissioner. He acknowledged that the bill could put some extra work on clerks.

“Even under this proposal not everybody will have insurance. Some people are going to drive without a tag. Some people drive without a license,” said Harrell, whose agency supports the bill.

George T. Foster, a Jackson resident, said the bill could be “one of the few times that the state Legislature got anything right.”

Foster said Washington and other states he has lived in require proof of insurance for tags or driver’s licenses.

“I feel like there are too many people driving without insurance,” Foster said. “Mississippi is finally catching up.”

Staff writer Kyle Carter contributed to this report. The bill is Senate Bill 2052. You can obtain a copy of the bill by visiting the Legislature’s Bill Status Web site at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us

[WKB]

MS Ping

[Leroy S. Mort]

In Georgia, this has been the law for as long as I can remember.

[boomop1]

Miss entering the 21st century.

[anoldafvet]

It was the same in New York when I lived there.

[janetgreen]

In California you can't get a tag without proof of liability insurance, and every two years you also must have proof of smog testing.

[BSunday]

“I feel like there are too many people driving without insurance,” Foster said

I don't. When I get hit by an uninsured motorist I get my deductible waived. Let the morons get sued by the insurance company.

[Warlord David]

Soon everything will have a tax, fee, fines and penalties, with a go to jail tag attached. This is democracy gone wrong, insane and mad. Both parties liberals and concervatives are to blame for this type of insanity. The sooner this government is destroyed the better. Perhaps that will be a light at the tunnel, after all.

[TontoKowalski]

Let the morons get sued by the insurance company.

Problem with that approach is that idiots who are driving without insurance probably aren't bright enough to have any real assets.

Can't get blood from a turnip.

[Moose4]

I don't know if they still do it this way up there, but in Virginia, you could pay a fee of several hundred dollars to the DMV and drive without insurance.

Here in South Carolina, insurance is required...but somehow, it's estimated that one-quarter to one-third of the drivers on the road don't have it. You're supposed to present proof of insurance when you renew your tags, and carry it at all times with your registration.

}:-)4

[BSunday]

Well, I guess ya got me there. =)

[mtbopfuyn]

Same in TX.

[kellynla]

"Miss entering the 21st century?"

the 21st century? How 'bout the twentieth century. LOL Of course before long, we're all going to reward illegality with a driver's license...so if you can get pass the border patrol we will reward you with a driver's license. And heck, if you can stay around long enough without getting caught we'll even make you an American citizen. Speak and/or read English? No problem! Is this a great country or what!!! LOL

[nobody_knows]

".....Can't get blood from a turnip."

And you can't get money from an illegal alien either.

[Conservababe]

We have had this in Missouri for years. Some people just buy the insurance, show proof, get a tag...and cancel the insurance for a refund.

[kittymyrib]

In TX one can buy insurance for a day, just long enough to get your tags renewed. Three members of our family have had accidents in recent years, all of them run into by illegal aliens with NO insurance but having car tags. MS better watch out for this scam.

[Leroy S. Mort]

In California you can't get a tag without proof of liability insurance, and every two years you also must have proof of smog testing.

Consider yourself lucky. In metro Atlanta we have to have an emissions test EVERY year. It's all computerized - when you go to get your tag, if the test and insurance don't show up on the DMV computer....ooops, no tag for YOU.

[philetus]

Do they still go to Rodney D. Young, get a month of insurance, get their tags and license then let the insurance lapse?

[WKB]

FWIW Ms has a mandatory Insurance law but according to
Clarion Ledger the number of Uninsured Motorist claims
has gone up every year since the law was passed.


A change in places of leadership in MS is bringing about much needed changes in a lot of areas.

[Hank Rearden]

I wish Big Stupid Government would point a gun at people's heads and force them to patronize my business, too.