00 HOUSE BILL NO. 95 01 "An Act relating to motor vehicle registration, licensing, and insurance; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 21.89 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05  Sec. 21.89.022. Reporting of motor vehicle insurance. (a) An insurer that 06 issues an automobile liability insurance policy in this state shall, before the seventh 07 day of each calendar month, provide to the Department of Public Safety a record of 08 each motor vehicle insurance policy issued by the insurer that was in effect as of the 09 previous month. This subsection does not preclude more frequent reporting by an 10 insurer. 11  (b) The record required under (a) of this section must include the 12  (1) name, date of birth, and driver license number of each insured; 13  (2) make, year, and vehicle identification number of each insured 14 vehicle; and 01  (3) policy number, effective date, and expiration date of each insurance 02 policy. 03  (c) An insurer shall provide the information required under this section in the 04 form required by the Department of Public Safety. 05  (d) In addition to any other penalty provided under this title, the director may, 06 after the director has provided the insurer with the opportunity for a hearing as 07 provided under AS 21.06.170 - 21.06.230, suspend or revoke the license of an insurer 08 who fails to comply with this section. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 28.10.021(a) is amended to read: 10  (a) The owner of a vehicle subject to registration shall apply for registration 11 under this chapter by properly completing the form prescribed by the commissioner 12 under AS 28.05.041. Before the issuance of a certificate of registration by the 13 department, the owner shall 14  (1) pay all registration fees and taxes required under this chapter and 15 federal heavy vehicle use taxes required under 26 U.S.C. 4481 (Internal Revenue Code 16 of 1954); 17  (2) unless the owner qualifies as a self-insurer under AS 28.20.400, 18 [OR] is exempted from obtaining liability insurance under AS 28.22.011, or the 19 department electronically verifies the existence of a motor vehicle liability policy 20 that complies with AS 28.22.011, provide evidence [CERTIFY] to the department 21 of the existence of a motor vehicle liability policy that complies with AS 28.22.011 22 for the vehicle being registered; in this paragraph, "evidence [CERTIFY]" means a 23 copy of the owner's valid insurance policy, binder notice, or renewal notice; a 24 card issued by an insurer as evidence of insurance required by AS 28.22.011; or 25 a letter from an insurance agent or insurer verifying insurance required by this 26 chapter [TO INDICATE BY CHECK-OFF ON THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION 27 FORM PRESCRIBED BY THE DEPARTMENT THE EXISTENCE OF A POLICY 28 OF INSURANCE, IF A POLICY IS REQUIRED AT THAT TIME, AND THE 29 INTENTION TO CONTINUE THE POLICY OR OBTAIN A POLICY 30 AS REQUIRED BY THIS SUBSECTION]; and 31  (3) comply with other applicable statutes and regulations. 01 * Sec. 3. AS 28.10.041(a)(11) is amended to read: 02  (11) the applicant fails to provide proof [CERTIFY] to the department 03 of the existence of a motor vehicle liability policy that complies with AS 28.22.101 04 for the vehicle being registered unless the owner of the vehicle qualifies as a self- 05 insurer under AS 28.20.400, [OR] is exempted from obtaining liability insurance under 06 AS 28.22.011, or the department electronically verifies the existence of a motor vehicle 07 policy that complies with AS 28.22.011. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 28.10.421(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) Unless otherwise provided by law, 10  (1) the fees prescribed in this section shall be paid to the department at 11 the times provided under AS 28.10.108 and 28.10.111; [AND] 12  (2) an additional fee of $10 shall be added to the registration fee set out 13 in this section for registration not conducted by mail or not conducted at an emissions 14 inspection station or contract office offering vehicle registration services; the 15 department may waive this additional fee for a good cause based on criteria established 16 in regulations adopted by the department; and 17   (3) at the time a person applies for registration or renewal of 18 registration of a motor vehicle under this chapter, the applicant shall pay an 19 insured motorist identification fee of $1 for each motor vehicle being registered; 20 a motor vehicle exempt from registration under another provision of this title is 21 also exempt from the fee required under this paragraph. 22 * Sec. 5. AS 28.15.255(a) is amended to read: 23  (a) The department may not reinstate a driver's license that has been revoked 24 or suspended under AS 28.15.221 - 28.15.261 until the person whose license has been 25 revoked or suspended provides proof of financial responsibility for the future or the 26 department electronically verifies the existence of motor vehicle liability insurance 27 required by AS 28.22.011. 28 * Sec. 6. AS 28.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: 29  Sec. 28.20.395. Proof by electronic verification. Proof of financial 30 responsibility may be made by the department by electronic verification. 31 * Sec. 7. AS 28.22.021 is amended to read: 01  Sec. 28.22.021. Requirement of proof of motor vehicle liability insurance.  02 Except as provided under (b) of this section, the [THE] owner or operator of a 03 motor vehicle required to have motor vehicle liability insurance that complies with this 04 chapter or a certificate of self-insurance that complies with AS 28.20.400 [,] shall 05 show proof of this insurance when that person is involved in an accident that results 06 in bodily injury to or death of a person, or damage to the property of a person 07 exceeding $501. 08 * Sec. 8. AS 28.22.021 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09  (b) A peace officer who responds to an accident that results in bodily injury, 10 death, or property damage that exceeds $501 may electronically verify that the person 11 who is an owner or operator of a motor vehicle involved in the accident is insured as 12 required by this chapter. If the peace officer electronically verifies that the person is 13 insured as required by this chapter or the person displays a certificate of self-insurance 14 that complies with AS 28.20.400, the person is not required to show proof of insurance 15 as required under (a) of this section. It is an affirmative defense to a citation or charge 16 for a violation of this section that the person being cited or charged was insured as 17 required by this chapter at the time the person was cited or charged. 18 * Sec. 9. AS 28.35 is amended by adding new sections to read: 19 Article 7. Insured Motorist Identification Program. 20  Sec. 28.35.300. Insured motorist identification program. (a) There is 21 created in the department the insured motorist identification program. The program 22 is created for the purpose of verifying compliance with the mandatory motor vehicle 23 insurance provisions of AS 28.22. The department shall, subject to appropriation, 24 contract with a third-party agent to establish an insured motorist data base and to track 25 compliance with the mandatory insurance provisions of AS 28.22. 26  (b) The data base required under (a) of this section must be developed and 27 maintained as required by the department and must be designed to allow efficient 28 access by state and municipal law enforcement agencies. The third-party agent 29 selected by the department shall, at least monthly, 30  (1) update the data base; and 31  (2) compare all current motor vehicle registrations against the data 01 base. 02  Sec. 28.35.310. Notice of noncompliance. If the department determines that 03 a motor vehicle is not insured as required by AS 28.22 for a period of three 04 consecutive months, the department may require the third-party agent to provide notice 05 to the owner of the motor vehicle that, within 45 days, the owner must provide proof 06 of insurance as required under AS 28.22 or proof of exemption from the requirements 07 of AS 28.22. If the owner fails to provide proof as required under this section, the 08 department may require the third-party agent to provide further notices of 09 noncompliance. 10  Sec. 28.35.320. Nondisclosure of data base information. Information in a 11 data base established under AS 28.35.300 may not be disclosed by the third-party 12 agent or the department except as permitted under AS 28.10.505. 13 * Sec. 10. This Act takes effect July 1, 1997.