Legislative Action By Nora Newman Jurgens

SECY. OF State Jim Edgar has again championed mandatory auto insurance legislation this session. Reintroducing the same plan which came within 13 votes of passage last session, Edgar's bill this year, H.B. 195, cleared the House on a 66-43 vote April 27. But, as expected, the bill was shot down by the Senate Insurance Committee June 6 on a vote of 7-3. Edgar, noting that legislation never really dies,

As this column went to press (June 10), those bills which had survived action in the second chamber were waiting for final consideration on the floors of the House and Senate. The fate of major legislation, including the bills covered this month as well as those discussed in the June magazine, will be reported in subsequent issues.

said after the committee defeated his bill, that he would get it onto the Senate floor for a vote.

This was the only bill dealing with mandatory auto insurance this year; last year, Edgar faced competition from Jerry Cosentino, who — at the time — was treasurer and Democratic candidate running against Edgar for secretary of state. Cosentino's bill was also defeated.

The major argument for mandatory insurance is based on the need to crack down on people who drive without insurance — 21 percent of all registered motorists in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. The insurance industry continues to oppose mandatory insurance, saying it would be unenforceable. Insurance companies would supposedly have to raise rates for "good" drivers to cover the "bad risk" drivers. The industry also suggests that current uninsured motorist coverage provides sufficient protection.

Thirty-one states currently require motorists to have insurance. Edgar's bill is modeled on Oregon's law, which has reduced its uninsured drivers from 14 to 5 percent. Under H.B. 195 Edgar's office would conduct a random check of registered vehicles, starting with a sample of 1 percent, as is done in Oregon. Penalties for failure to have insurance would range from a $250 fine and three-months' suspension of the driver's license to a $500 fine and six months' suspension. The first-year cost of the law would be from $350,000 to $500,000, according to Edgar's office.

Certain Chicago Democrats against the bill say it would impose undue hardship on poor people. One legislator suggested it was "racist." (About 52 percent of the cars in Chicago are uninsured, according to the Department of Insurance.) The sponsor of Edgar's bill, however, is a Chicago Democrat. Rep. William Laurino (D-2, Chicago) argues that basic liability insurance costs only about $300 per year, and he said, "If you can afford to operate a vehicle, you can afford $300 to operate that vehicle in a safe fashion."

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The bill remains in basically the same form as last year, with the addition of a four-year "sunset" provision if the new law doesn't work. Car owners would be required to provide proof of insurance when applying for license plates and renewal stickers, and would be required to carry that proof with them when they drive. Under the bill, police are given authority to check for insurance on routine traffic stops.

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