HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 52

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE APPROPRIATE LEGISLATIVE INTERIM COMMITTEE TO STUDY OPTIONS FOR LOWERING THE COST OF MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE, INCLUDING "PAY AT THE PUMP" PROPOSALS, AND INCREASING THE PERCENTAGE OF INSURED MOTORISTS IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, the cost of motor vehicle insurance in New Mexico is disproportionately high considering the state's low per capita income; and

     WHEREAS, twenty-seven states had average liability premiums that were lower than New Mexico's in 2002, yet only three states had a lower per capita income that same year; and

     WHEREAS, the high cost of motor vehicle insurance, when coupled with the low income of many New Mexicans, has resulted in an estimated fifteen percent of motorists in the state driving without liability insurance; and

     WHEREAS, the cost of buying insurance is increased by the need to purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage; and

     WHEREAS, without affordable insurance, mandatory insurance laws will not work, which means that rates will remain high; and

     WHEREAS, if all motorists carried liability insurance, rates might be reduced; and

     WHEREAS, legislative proposals for penalties, incentives, payment programs and other mechanisms have been offered from time to time to address the problem of uninsured motorists; and

     WHEREAS, one such proposal is a "pay at the pump" system under which motorists would pay for liability insurance each time they purchased fuel, which would ensure that all motorists were insured; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature should examine and evaluate a range of proposals for addressing the problem of uninsured motorists, including the "pay at the pump" system;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to direct the appropriate legislative interim committee to study the "pay at the pump" system and other options for lowering the cost of liability insurance and increasing the percentage of insured motorists in New Mexico and report its recommendations, if any, to the second session of the forty-seventh legislature; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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