General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5391
February Session, 2012 LCO No. 1765
*01765_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on Public Safety and Security
Introduced by:
(PS)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5391
February Session, 2012
LCO No. 1765
*01765_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on Public Safety and Security
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN INSURANCE AND VEHICLE REGISTRATION VERIFICATION SYSTEM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) As used in sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act:
(1) "COLLECT system" means the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing System;
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles;
(3) "Department" means the Department of Motor Vehicles;
(4) "Financial responsibility" means the ability to satisfy the requirements established in section 38a-371 of the general statutes;
(5) "NLETS" means the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System; and
(6) "Noninvasive" means not containing or displaying personal identifying information including a name and address.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the commissioner's designee shall contract with a third party no later than ninety days after the effective date of this section to implement an electronic automobile and commercial vehicle liability insurance confirmation and compliance system in the state that shall include the following:
(1) A system to make both interstate and intrastate vehicle insurance and registration status available to law enforcement agencies for automated query at any time through NLETS and which is fully interfaced with the COLLECT system and which is in turn linked to the Department of Motor Vehicles;
(2) A system to make available to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles by use of current connections only so as to require no modification to existing or planned systems of the department, a financial responsibility verification system for use when an individual or entity registers a vehicle pursuant to part III of chapter 246 of the general statutes, such system to be accessed through the department's current connection with the COLLECT system or directly through the Internet or a combination of both when and in the manner as the commissioner may determine;
(3) A system to provide automobile and commercial vehicle insurance information to emergency medical service providers;
(4) A verification system to provide courts with financial responsibility status for the court date, the summons date and the date prior to the summons date and a history of the vehicle's periods of coverage, regarding both intrastate and whenever possible, interstate vehicles identified as noncompliant;
(5) An automatic license plate recognition system to electronically capture license plate images in two seconds or less and noninvasively attempt verification of the insurance and, when possible, the registration status of the vehicle. If the vehicle is covered under an automobile insurance policy or properly registered or there is no conclusive proof of noncompliance as determined by a law enforcement officer, the automatic license plate recognition system shall erase the record of the vehicle's license plate within one minute;
(6) A system to provide secure postal notification, telephone and internet-based help desk, verification and secure collection services for the state regarding summonses issued by the system;
(7) A system that provides secure, dedicated, electronic portals with appropriate information for authorized users as determined by the commissioner; and
(8) A system that provides a help desk service with live operators but also a facsimile service and Internet-based response service so that summonses can be challenged and any errors corrected.
(b) All costs, including, but not limited to, development, manufacture, implementation, maintenance, operation and purchasing shall be the burden of the third party and not the state.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) Each insurer that delivers, issues for delivery, or renews automobile and commercial vehicle liability insurance policies in this state shall furnish to NLETS acting for the department, on at least a daily basis, all of the following information concerning vehicles owned by any persons or entities to whom it issued such policies of insurance on the previous day and for whom or which any persons or entities on the previous day cancelled such policies or allowed such policies to lapse through failure to pay the premium due or for whom or which such policies were otherwise cancelled or suspended by such insurer:
(1) The effective or termination date of the policy;
(2) The policy number;
(3) The vehicle identification number or, if a commercial policy, the asset identification number or United States Department of Transportation number, of the vehicle covered under the policy;
(4) The make, model and model year of the vehicle covered under the policy;
(5) The zip code of residence of the policyholder, but no other name or address elements;
(6) Any lien holder identified in the policy or the federal lien holder identification number;
(7) The level of insurance coverage expressed in the following categories: Liability, comprehensive, collision and uninsured motorist coverage;
(8) Any other file elements as determined to be advantageous by the insurer; and
(9) Any other file elements determined to be necessary by the commissioner.
(b) The Insurance Commissioner and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall require insurers to submit the information required under subsection (a) of this section to the Department of Motor Vehicles and to NLETS by electronic means or, in the case of a small insurer with fewer than ten thousand policies, by either facsimile or electronic spreadsheet as such small insurer may choose.
(c) The state shall incur no liability concerning the accuracy of any insurance policy data reported pursuant to this section.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes to implement sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act including the method insurers must use to submit information to the department and to NLETS under subsection (a) of section 3 of this act and which may include the use of the web site enabled standard of the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration, provided no privacy data is used to obtain information and actual status is provided.
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) Except as expressly provided in sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act, all prosecutions based on evidence produced by the confirmation and compliance system shall follow the procedures set forth in section 51-164n of the general statutes, as amended by this act. A summons shall be issued by a law enforcement officer solely based on evidence obtained by use of a live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system. All summonses issued based on evidence obtained from a live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system shall be issued within seven days of the violation.
(b) Evidence obtained from a live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system shall be sufficient to commence a prosecution. A copy of the summons and supporting documentation shall be mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by the department. For purposes of this section, the date of issuance shall be the date of mailing.
(c) The law enforcement officer issuing the summons shall certify under penalties of perjury that the evidence obtained from the live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system was sufficient to demonstrate a violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, or subsection (a) of section 14-213b of the general statutes, as amended by this act. Such certification shall be sufficient in all prosecutions pursuant to sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act to justify the entry of a default judgment upon sufficient proof of actual notice in all cases where the summons is not answered within the time period permitted.
(d) The summons shall contain the date, time and location of the violation and all other required information. In addition, the following information shall be attached to or accompany the summons:
(1) Copies of two or more photographs, or microphotographs, videos, or other enforcement information approved by the officer that, based on inspection of the recorded images, the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, or subsection (a) of section 14-213b of the general statutes, as amended by this act;
(2) A signed statement that recorded images is evidence of a violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, or subsection (a) of section 14-213b of the general statutes, as amended by this act;
(3) A statement that the person who receives the summons under sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act may follow the procedure set forth in section 51-164n of the general statutes, as amended by this act;
(4) A signed affidavit by a person who witnessed the motor vehicle being operated in violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, or subsection (a) of section 14-213b of the general statutes, as amended by this act, as he or she reviewed the recorded images;
(5) The contact telephone numbers, addresses and both facsimile and Internet addresses to provide proof of compliance along with a statement of procedures and confirmation that the record will be modified should proper proof be provided and pending charges dismissed; and
(6) A signed statement certified under the penalties of perjury by a trained law enforcement officer that the summons and attachments required under this subsection were mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by the department.
(e) Any summons issued pursuant to this section shall be issued by a sworn law enforcement officer.
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) In all prosecutions of violations of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and subsection (a) of section 14-213b of the general statutes, as amended by this act, based on evidence obtained from a live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system as provided under sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act, the registered owner of the vehicle shall be responsible for such violation, even if the registered owner was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation.
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) The state shall not pay the cost of the implementation and administration of the electronic verification system established by sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this act.
(b) Only the revenue generated by the fines imposed through the use of the license plate recognition system specified in subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 2 of this act shall be shared equally by the state and the third party.
Sec. 8. Subsection (a) of section 14-12 of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) No motor vehicle shall be operated or towed on any highway, except as otherwise expressly provided, unless it is registered with the commissioner, provided any motor vehicle may be towed for repairs or necessary work if it bears the markers of a licensed and registered dealer, manufacturer or repairer and provided any motor vehicle which is validly registered in another state may, for a period of sixty days following establishment by the owner of residence in this state, be operated on any highway without first being registered with the commissioner. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, (1) a person commits an infraction if such person registers a motor vehicle he or she does not own, [or if such] (2) a person who operates, or allows the operation of, an unregistered motor vehicle on a public highway shall be fined (A) for the first offense, three hundred fifty dollars, (B) for the second offense, six hundred dollars, and (C) for any subsequent offense, seven hundred fifty dollars, or [(2)] (3) a resident of this state who operates a motor vehicle he or she owns with marker plates issued by another state shall be fined one thousand dollars. If the owner of a motor vehicle previously registered on an annual or biennial basis, the registration of which expired not more than thirty days previously, operates or allows the operation of such a motor vehicle, such owner shall be fined the amount designated for the infraction of failure to renew a registration, but the right to retain his or her operator's license shall not be affected. No operator other than the owner shall be subject to penalty for the operation of such a previously registered motor vehicle. As used in this subsection, the term "unregistered motor vehicle" includes any vehicle that is not eligible for registration by the commissioner due to the absence of necessary equipment or other characteristics of the vehicle that make it unsuitable for highway operation, unless the operation of such vehicle is expressly permitted by another provision of this chapter or chapter 248.
Sec. 9. Section 14-213b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) No owner of any private passenger motor vehicle or a vehicle with a combination or commercial registration, as defined in section 14-1, registered or required to be registered in this state may operate or permit the operation of such vehicle without the security required by section 38a-371 or with security insufficient to meet the minimum requirements of said section, or without any other security requirements imposed by law, as the case may be. Failure of the operator to produce an insurance identification card as required by section 14-217 shall constitute prima facie evidence that the owner has not maintained the security required by section 38a-371 and this section.
(b) [Any] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, any person convicted of violating any provision of subsection (a) of this section shall be fined [not less than one hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars, except that any] (A) for the first offense, three hundred fifty dollars, (B) for the second offense, six hundred dollars, and (C) for any subsequent offense, seven hundred fifty dollars.
(2) Any owner of a motor vehicle with a commercial registration who knowingly violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section with respect to such vehicle shall be guilty of a class D felony.
(c) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall suspend the registration, and the operator's license, if any, of an owner, for a first conviction of violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this section for a period of one month and for a second or subsequent conviction for a period of six months. No operator's license which has been suspended pursuant to this subsection shall be restored until the owner has provided evidence to the commissioner that he maintains the security required by section 38a-371 or any other security requirements imposed by law for each motor vehicle registered in his name.
Sec. 10. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the 2012 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35, 7-41, 7-83, 7-283, 7-325, 7-393, 8-25, 8-27, 9-63, 9-322, 9-350, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-251, 10-254, 12-52, 12-170aa, 12-292 or 12-326g, subdivision (4) of section 12-408, subdivision (3), (5) or (6) of section 12-411, section 12-435c, 12-476a, 12-476b, 12-487, 13a-71, 13a-107, 13a-113, 13a-114, 13a-115, 13a-117b, 13a-123, 13a-124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-247 or 13a-253, subsection (f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90, 13b-221, 13b-292, 13b-336, 13b-337, 13b-338, 13b-410a, 13b-410b or 13b-410c, subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 13b-412, section 13b-414, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) and subsection (d) of section 14-12, as amended by this act, section 14-20a or 14-27a, subsection (e) of section 14-34a, subsection (d) of section 14-35, section 14-43, 14-49, 14-50a or 14-58, subsection (b) of section 14-66, section 14-66a, 14-66b or 14-67a, subsection (g) of section 14-80, subsection (f) of section 14-80h, section 14-97a, 14-100b, 14-103a, 14-106a, 14-106c, 14-146, 14-152, 14-153 or 14-163b, a first violation as specified in subsection (f) of section 14-164i, subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 14-213b, as amended by this act, section 14-219 as specified in subsection (e) of said section, subdivision (1) of section 14-223a, section 14-240, 14-249, 14-250 or 14-253a, subsection (a) of section 14-261a, section 14-262, 14-264, 14-267a, 14-269, 14-270, 14-275a, 14-278 or 14-279, subsection (e) of section 14-283, section 14-291, 14-293b, 14-296aa, 14-319, 14-320, 14-321, 14-325a, 14-326, 14-330 or 14-332a, subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of section 14-386a, section 15-33, subsection (a) of section 15-115, section 16-256, 16-256e, 16a-15 or 16a-22, subsection (a) or (b) of section 16a-22h, section 17a-24, 17a-145, 17a-149, 17a-152, 17a-465, 17a-642, 17b-124, 17b-131, 17b-137 or 17b-734, subsection (b) of section 17b-736, section 19a-30, 19a-33, 19a-39 or 19a-87, subsection (b) of section 19a-87a, section 19a-91, 19a-105, 19a-107, 19a-215, 19a-219, 19a-222, 19a-224, 19a-286, 19a-287, 19a-297, 19a-301, 19a-309, 19a-335, 19a-336, 19a-338, 19a-339, 19a-340, 19a-425, 19a-502, 20-7a, 20-14, 20-158, 20-231, 20-257, 20-265 or 20-324e, section 20-341l, 20-597, 20-608, 20-610, 21-30, 21-38, 21-39, 21-43, 21-47, 21-48, 21-63, 21-76a, 21a-21, 21a-25, 21a-26 or 21a-30, subsection (a) of section 21a-37, section 21a-46, 21a-61, 21a-63 or 21a-77, subsection (b) of section 21a-79, section 21a-85, 21a-154 or 21a-159, subsection (a) of section 21a-279a, section 22-13, 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, 22-29, 22-34, 22-35, 22-36, 22-38, 22-39, 22-39a, 22-39b, 22-39c, 22-39d, 22-39e, 22-49, 22-54, 22-61, 22-89, 22-90, 22-98, 22-99, 22-100, 22-111o, 22-279, 22-280a, 22-318a, 22-320h, 22-324a, 22-326 or 22-342, subsection (b), (e) or (f) of section 22-344, section 22-359, 22-366, 22-391, 22-413, 22-414, 22-415, 22a-66a or 22a-246, subsection (a) of section 22a-250, subsection (e) of section 22a-256h, section 22a-381d, 22a-449, 22a-461, 23-37, 23-38, 23-46 or 23-61b, subsection (a) or (b) of section 23-65, section 25-37, 25-40, 26-19, 26-21, 26-31, 26-40, 26-40a, 26-49, 26-54, 26-59, 26-61, 26-64, 26-79, 26-89, 26-97, 26-107, 26-117, 26-128, 26-131, 26-132, 26-138, 26-141, 26-207, 26-215, 26-224a, 26-227, 26-230, 26-294, 28-13, 29-6a, 29-109, 29-143o, 29-143z or 29-156a, subsection (b), (d), (e) or (g) of section 29-161q, section 29-161y, 29-161z, 29-198, 29-210, 29-243, 29-277, subsection (c) of section 29-291c, section 29-316, 29-318, 29-381, 30-48a, 30-86a, 31-3, 31-10, 31-11, 31-12, 31-13, 31-14, 31-15, 31-16, 31-18, 31-23, 31-24, 31-25, 31-28, 31-32, 31-36, 31-38, 31-38a, 31-40, 31-44, 31-47, 31-48, 31-51, 31-51k, 31-52, 31-52a or 31-54, subsection (a) or (c) of section 31-69, section 31-70, 31-74, 31-75, 31-76, 31-76a, 31-89b or 31-134, subsection (i) of section 31-273, section 31-288, 36a-787, 42-230, 45a-450, 45a-634 or 45a-658, subdivision (13) or (14) of section 46a-54, section 46a-59, 46b-22, 46b-24, 46b-34, 47-34a, 47-47, 49-8a, 49-16 or 53-133, or section 53-212a, 53-249a, 53-252, 53-264, 53-302a, 53-303e, 53-311a, 53-321, 53-322, 53-323, 53-331, 53-344 or 53-450, or (2) a violation under the provisions of chapter 268, or (3) a violation of any regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 12-484, 12-487 or 13b-410, or (4) a violation of any ordinance, regulation or bylaw of any town, city or borough, except violations of building codes and the health code, for which the penalty exceeds ninety dollars but does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars, unless such town, city or borough has established a payment and hearing procedure for such violation pursuant to section 7-152c, shall follow the procedures set forth in this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 7 October 1, 2012 New section
Sec. 8 October 1, 2012 14-12(a)
Sec. 9 October 1, 2012 14-213b
Sec. 10 October 1, 2012 51-164n(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 3
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 4
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 5
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 6
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 7
October 1, 2012
New section
Sec. 8
October 1, 2012
14-12(a)
Sec. 9
October 1, 2012
14-213b
Sec. 10
October 1, 2012
51-164n(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To establish an insurance and vehicle registration system that would use cameras to detect vehicles that are uninsured or unregistered and assess fines on the owners of such vehicles.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]