This bill was held in committee.
Last year, the Legislature approved a bill to do away with the statewide requirement to carry a physical vehicle registration card. They decided that penalizing someone for not carrying an actual card was too harsh when the person had indeed complied with the registration law by registering their vehicle. Law enforcement has the ability to look up the registration with the driver’s information alone. The reason for that law is because the nation is moving towards a more electronic platform, and it doesn’t always make sense to have physical paper cards anymore.
The same standard could be applied to vehicle insurance. This may be why Senator Jake Anderegg is sponsoring Senate Bill 186. The bill would repeal a requirement to carry physical evidence of insurance, in paper form, for example. Under his bill, one would be able to also show proof via your electronic device. This means that if you forget to put your insurance card in your car, and are later pulled over, you could still prove your vehicle is ensured by pulling up the necessary documents on your phone.
Furthermore, SB 186 protects drivers from being penalized for failing to provide proof of insurance. If an individual is cited or arrested for not having proof of vehicle insurance, they are able to provide proof from the insurance company after the incident occurs.
This bill gives leniency for insured vehicle owners who are complying with the insurance portion of the law but may not be in compliance with carrying proof of insurance. It is a mercy bill that upholds justice while removing strict penalizations for technicality errors.
