2015 -- H 5610

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LC001175

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- ELECTRONIC CONFIRMATION AND

COMPLIANCE SYSTEM

     Introduced By: Representative Robert B. Jacquard

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2015

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 31 of the General Laws entitled "MOTOR AND OTHER

VEHICLES" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 21.3

ELECTRONIC CONFIRMATION AND COMPLIANCE SYSTEM

     31-21.3-1. Short title. – This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island

electronic confirmation and compliance system."

     31-21.3-2. Definitions. – When used in this chapter:

     (1) "Administrator" means the director of the division of motor vehicles;

     (2) "Department" means the department of public safety;

     (3) "Director" means the administrator of the department of public safety;

     (4) "Division" means the division of motor vehicles (DMV);

     (5) "Financial responsibility" means the ability to satisfy the requirements established in

chapter 31-31;

     (6) "IICMVA" means the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle

Administration;

     (7) "NLETS" means the national law enforcement telecommunications system;

     (8) "Noninvasive" means does not contain or display personal identifying information

including a name and address;

     (9) "RILETS" means the Rhode Island law enforcement telecommunications system.

     31-21.3-3. Electronic insurance confirmation and compliance system. – (a) The

director of the department of public safety and/or his or her designees shall contract with a third

party no later than ninety (90) days after enactment of this chapter 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 for automated query at any time through the NLETS used by

law enforcement in this state and all others and which is fully interfaced with the RILETS system,

department's law enforcement message switch communications and hot file database system and

which is in turn linked to the division of motor vehicles (DMV);

     (2) A system to make available by use of current connections, only so as to require no

modification to existing or planned DMV systems, the administrator of the division of motor

vehicles, a financial responsibility verification system for use when an entity or individual

registers a vehicle pursuant to chapter 31 of title 31, such system to be accessed via the division's

current connection with RILETS or directly via the internet or a combination of both when and in

the manner as the administrator of the division of motor vehicles 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 citation date, the day prior to the citation date, and a history of the vehicle's periods

of coverage, regarding both intrastate and whenever possible, interstate vehicles identified as non-

compliant;

     (5) An automatic license plate recognition system to electronically capture license plate

images in two (2) 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 non-compliance 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 citations issued by this

system;

     (7) A system that provides secure, dedicated, electronic portals with appropriate

information for authorized users as determined by the director;

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     (8) A system that provides a help desk service with live operators, but also a fax service

and internet-based response service so that citations can be challenged and any errors corrected in

support of the public, and also to reduce the burdens that might otherwise be placed upon the

traffic tribunal.

     (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.

     31-21.3-4. Mandatory reporting. – (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 entity to whom it issued such policies of insurance

on the previous day and for whom/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/which such policies were otherwise cancelled or suspended by said 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 USDOT 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 (but no other name or address elements) of residence of the

policyholder;

     (6) Any lien holder identified in the policy and/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 administrator.

     (b) The insurance commissioner and administrator will require insurers to submit the

information required under subsection (a) of this section to the department and to NLETS, which

is owned and controlled by this state and all other states, via electronic means or, if in the case of

a small insurer with fewer than ten thousand (10,000) policies, by either fax or electronic

spreadsheet as they may choose.

     (c) The state shall incur no liability concerning the accuracy of any insurance policy data

reported pursuant to this section.

     31-21.3-5. Rules and regulations. – The administrator shall adopt rules and regulations

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to implement this chapter including rules to determine the method insurers must use to submit

information to the department and to NLETS under § 31-21.3-4(a) and which may include the use

of the IICMVA web-enabled standard, provided that no privacy data is used to obtain information

and that actual status is provided.

     31-21.3-6. Procedure -- Notice. – (a) Except as expressly provided in this chapter, all

prosecutions based on evidence produced by this confirmation and compliance system shall

follow the procedures established in chapter 41.1 of this title, chapter 18 of title 8 of the general

laws and the rules promulgated by the chief magistrate of the traffic tribunal for the hearing of

civil traffic violations in the traffic tribunal. Provided, that in an action brought pursuant to the

provisions of this chapter, references in chapter 41.1 of this title to an "operator" shall apply to

the registered owner of the vehicle. A summons shall be issued by an 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 (7) days of the violation. Notwithstanding any

provisions of the general laws to the contrary, exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide any

violation under this chapter shall be with the traffic tribunal.

     (b) It shall be sufficient to commence a prosecution based on evidence obtained from a

live digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system. A copy of the summons and

supporting documentation shall be mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by

the registry of motor vehicles pursuant to § 31-3-34. For purposes of this section, the date of

issuance shall be the date of mailing.

     (c) The 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 the motor vehicle code. Such certification shall be

sufficient in all prosecutions pursuant to this chapter to justify the entry of a default judgment

upon sufficient proof of actual notice in all cases where the citation is not answered within the

time period permitted.

     (d) The summons shall contain all the information provided for on the uniform summons

as referred to in § 31-41.1-1 and the rules of procedure promulgated by the chief magistrate of the

traffic tribunal as well as the date, time, and location of the violation. In addition, the following

information shall be attached to or accompany the summons:

     (1) Copies of two (2) or more photographs, or microphotographs, videos, or other

enforcement information approved by the officer that, based on inspection of recorded images,

the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of this chapter;

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     (2) A signed statement that the recorded images are evidence of a violation of this

chapter;

     (3) A statement that the person who receives the summons under this chapter may either

pay the civil fine or elect to stand trial for the alleged violation;

     (4) A signed affidavit by a person who witnessed the motor vehicle being operated in

violation of this chapter as he or she reviewed 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 registry of motor vehicles.

     (e) Any summons issued pursuant to this chapter shall be issued by a law enforcement

officer authorized to issue a traffic violation summons pursuant to title 31.

     31-21.3-7. Driver/registered owner liability. – (a) The registered owner of a motor

vehicle shall not operate or allow the motor vehicle to be operated in violation of this chapter.

     (b) In all prosecutions of civil traffic violations based on evidence obtained from a live

digital video vehicle confirmation and compliance system as provided under this chapter, the

registered owner of the vehicle shall be responsible in all prosecutions of violations pursuant to

the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided under this chapter.

     (c) In the event that the registered owner of the vehicle operated in violation of this

chapter was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the registered owner shall

be responsible for the violation:

     31-21.3-8. Fines revenue allocation. – (a) The state shall not pay the cost of the

implementation and administration of the electronic verification system created by this chapter.

     (b) Only the revenue generated by the fines imposed through the use of the license plate

recognition system referenced in § 31-21.3-3 shall be shared equally by the state and the third

party.

     SECTION 2. Section 31-8-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-8 entitled "Offenses

Against Registration and Certificate of Title Laws" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     31-8-1. Operation of vehicles without evidences of registration. -- No person shall

operate, nor shall an owner knowingly permit to be operated, upon any highway or bicycle trail or

path, any vehicle required to be registered pursuant to this title unless there has been issued for it

a valid registration card and unless there is attached to it and displayed on it, when and as

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required by chapters 3 -- 9 of this title, a valid registration plate or plates issued for it by the

division of motor vehicles for the current registration year except as otherwise expressly

permitted in those chapters. Any violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of eighty-

five dollars ($85.00) for a first offense of three hundred fifty dollars ($350). The fine for a second

offense shall be six hundred dollars ($600). The fine for a third and subsequent offense shall be

seven hundred fifty dollars ($750).

     SECTION 3. Section 31-47-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-47 entitled "Motor

Vehicle Reparations Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     31-47-9. Penalties. -- (a) Any owner of a motor vehicle registered in this state who shall

knowingly operate the motor vehicle or knowingly permit it to be operated in this state without

having in full force and effect the financial security required by the provisions of this chapter, and

any other person who shall operate in this state any motor vehicle registered in this state with the

knowledge that the owner of it does not have in full force and effect financial security, except a

person who, at the time of operation of the motor vehicle, had in effect an operator's policy of

liability insurance, as defined in this chapter, with respect to his or her operation of the vehicle,

may be subject to a mandatory suspension of license and registration as follows:

      (1) For a first offense, a suspension of up to three (3) two (2) months and may shall be

fined one hundred dollars ($100) up to five hundred dollars ($500) three hundred fifty dollars

($350);

      (2) For a second offense, a suspension of six (6) months; and may shall be fined five

hundred dollars ($500) six hundred dollars ($600); and

      (3) For a third and subsequent offense, a suspension of up to one year. Additionally, any

person violating this section a third or subsequent time shall be punished as a civil violation and

may shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) seven hundred fifty dollars ($750).

      (b) An order of suspension and impoundment of a license or registration, or both, shall

state that date on or before which the person is required to surrender the person's license or

certificate of registration and registration plates. The person is deemed to have surrendered the

license or certificate of registration and registration plates, in compliance with the order, if the

person does either of the following:

      (1) On or before the date specified in the order, personally delivers the license or

certificate of registration and registration plates, or causes the delivery of those items, to the

administrator of the division of motor vehicles or court, whichever issued the order;

      (2) Mails the license or certificate of registration and registration plates to the

administrator of the division of motor vehicles, in an envelope or container bearing a postmark

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showing a date no later than the date specified in the order.

      (c) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall not restore any operating

privileges or registration rights suspended under this section or return any license, certificate of

registration, or registration plates impounded under this section unless the rights are not subject to

suspension or revocation under any other law and unless the person, in addition to complying

with all other conditions required by law for reinstatement of operating privileges or registration

rights, complies with all of the following:

      (1) Pays a reinstatement fee of thirty dollars ($30.00). The reinstatement fee may be

increased, upon approval of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles, up to an amount

not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00).; and

      (2) Files and maintains proof of financial security. To facilitate the administration of this

chapter the clerk of the courts shall notify the administrator of the division of motor vehicles of

all persons against whom judgments have been entered arising out of a motor vehicle collision.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- ELECTRONIC CONFIRMATION AND

COMPLIANCE SYSTEM

***

     This act would create an electronic automobile and commercial vehicle liability insurance

confirmation and compliance system in the state. The act would also provide for mandatory fines

for operating a vehicle without evidence of registration and for operating without having financial

security in full force and effect.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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