163fb

    On the printed bill, delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

    "    Section 1. Terms used in this Act mean:

            (1)    "Database," the auto insurance verification database created by this Act;

            (2)    "Designated agent," the third party that the division contracts with pursuant to this Act;

            (3)    "Division," the Division of Motor Vehicles under the Department of Revenue;

            (4)    "Motor vehicle," a noncommercial motor vehicle for which license fees are determined pursuant to §§ 32-5-6, 32-5-6.1, 32-5-6.3, and 32-5-9 and a commercial motor vehicle for which license fees are determined pursuant to chapter 32-9;

            (5)    "Program," the auto insurance verification program created under this Act.

    Section 2. There is created the auto insurance verification program to:

            (1)    Establish an auto insurance verification database to verify compliance with motor vehicle owner's or operator's security requirements established by this Act;

            (2)    Assist in reducing the number of uninsured motor vehicles on the highways of the state;

            (3)    Assist in protecting a financial institution's bona fide security interest in a motor vehicle; and

            (4)    For other law enforcement purposes.

    Section 3. The auto insurance verification program shall be administered by the division with the assistance of the designated agent. The division shall enter into a contract with a third party to establish and maintain an auto insurance verification database for the purposes established under this Act. The third party under contract under this section is the division's designated agent.

    Section 4. The third party shall develop and maintain a computer database from the information provided by:

            (1)    Insurers under sections 23 to 28, inclusive, of this Act, relating to motor vehicle insurance reporting; and

            (2)    The Division of Motor Vehicles.

    Section 5. The database shall be developed and maintained in accordance with guidelines established by the division so that state and local law enforcement agencies and financial institutions may efficiently access the records of the database, including reports useful for the implementation

of the provisions of this Act.

    Section 6. The reports shall be in a form and contain information approved by the division. The reports may be made available through the internet or through other electronic medium, if the division determines that sufficient security is provided to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act regarding limitations on disclosure of information in the database.

    Section 7. With information provided by the division, the designated agent shall, at least twice monthly:

            (1)    Update the database with the motor vehicle insurance information provided by the insurers in accordance with sections 23 to 28, inclusive, of this Act, regarding motor vehicle insurance reporting; and

            (2)    Compare all current motor vehicle registrations against the database.

    Section 8. The division shall provide the designated agent with the name, date of birth, address, and driver license number of each person on the driver license database.

    Section 9. The designated agent shall archive computer data files at least semiannually for auditing purposes. The division may annually audit the program. If the audit is performed, the audit shall include verification of the billings made by the designated agent and the accuracy of the designated agent's matching of vehicle registration with insurance data.

    Section 10. If the comparison required under the auto insurance verification database created by this Act shows that a motor vehicle is not insured for three consecutive months, the division shall direct that the designated agent to notify the owner of the motor vehicle that the owner has fifteen days to provide:

            (1)    Proof of the owner's or operator's security in a form allowed under the provisions of this Act; or

            (2)    Proof of exemption from the owner's or operator's security requirements.

    Section 11. If an owner of a motor vehicle fails to provide satisfactory proof of owner's or operator's security to the designated agent, the designated agent shall:

            (1)    Provide a second notice to the owner of the motor vehicle that the owner now has fifteen days to provide proof of owner's or operator's security in a form allowed under the provisions of this Act or proof of exemption from the owner's or operator's security requirements;

            (2)    For each notice provided, the designated agent shall indicate information relating to the owner's failure to provide proof of owner's or operator's security in the database; and

            (3)    Provide this information to state and local law enforcement agencies as requested in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

    Any owner of a motor vehicle who provides a false or fraudulent proof of owner's or operator's security to the division or designated agent is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

---

    Section 12. The division shall revoke the registration of the motor vehicle upon receiving notification from the designated agent of the owner's failure to comply with the provisions of section 11 of this Act. The division shall provide appropriate notices of the revocation, the legal consequences of operating a vehicle with revoked registration, and without owner's or operator's security and instructions on how to get the registration reinstated. The division may direct the designated agent to provide the notices required by this section.

    Section 13. Any action by the division to revoke the registration of a motor vehicle pursuant to this Act may be in addition to an action by a law enforcement agency to impose criminal penalties pursuant to this Act.

    Section 14. This Act does not affect other actions or penalties that may be taken or imposed for violation of the owner's and operator's security requirements of this Act or any other law.

    Section 15. No registration that has been revoked pursuant to this Act may be reinstated and no new license or registration may be issued to the holder of the revoked registration until the person pays an administrative reinstatement fee of one hundred dollars to the division and complies with the other provisions of this Act. The fee imposed by this section is in addition to any other fee imposed by law and shall be deposited in the uninsured motor vehicle fund established by section 16 of this Act.

    Section 16. There is hereby created in the state treasury the uninsured motor vehicle fund for the purpose of paying the expenses for the auto insurance verification program. Interest earned on money in the fund shall be deposited into the fund. Expenditures from this fund shall be appropriated through the normal budgeting process.

    Section 17. Information in the database established under this Act provided by any person to the designated agent is considered to be the property of the person providing the information. No information may be disclosed from the database pursuant to chapter 1-27, or otherwise, except as follows:

            (1)    For the purpose of investigating, litigating, or enforcing the owner's or operator's security requirement under this Act, the designated agent shall verify insurance information through the state computer network for a state or local government agency or court;

            (2)    For the purpose of investigating, litigating, or enforcing the owner's or operator's security requirement under this Act, the designated agent shall, upon request, issue to any state or local government agency or court a certificate documenting the insurance information, according to the database, of a specific person or motor vehicle for the time period designated by the government agency;

            (3)    Upon request, the division or its designated agent shall disclose whether or not a person is an insured individual and the insurance company name to:

            (a)    That person or, if that person is deceased, any interested person of that person, as defined in Title 29A;

            (b)    The parent or legal guardian of that person if the person is not an unemancipated minor;

---

            (c)    The legal guardian of that person if the person is legally incapacitated;

            (d)    A person who has power of attorney from the insured person;

            (e)    A person who submits a notarized release from the insured person dated no more than ninety days before the date the request is made; or

            (f)    A person suffering loss or injury in a motor vehicle accident in which the insured individual is involved, but only as part of an accident report as provided by § 32-12-61;

            (4)    For the purpose of investigating, enforcing, or prosecuting laws or issuing citations by state or local law enforcement agencies related to the:

            (a)    Registration and renewal of registration of a motor vehicle pursuant to chapter 32-5;

            (b)    Purchase of a motor vehicle; and

            (c)    Maintenance of financial responsibility required by § 32-35-113;

            (5)    Upon request of a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity under the provisions of subdivision (4) of this section, the division or the designated agent shall, upon request, disclose relevant information for investigation, enforcement, or prosecution;

            (6)    For the purpose of the division or other auditor of the state conducting audits of the program; and

            (7)    Upon request of a financial institution as defined in subdivision 10-43-1(4) for the purpose of protecting the financial institution's bona fide security interest in a motor vehicle.

    Section 18. The division may allow the designated agent to prepare and deliver upon request, a report on the insurance information of a person or motor vehicle in accordance with this section. The report may be in the form of:

            (1)    A certified copy that is considered admissible in any court proceeding in the same manner as the original; or

            (2)    Information accessible through the internet or through other electronic medium if the division determines that sufficient security is provided to ensure compliance with this Act.

    Section 19. Any person who knowingly releases or discloses information from the database for a purpose other than those authorized by this Act or to a person who is not entitled to the information is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

    Section 20. No insurer is liable to any person for complying with this Act requiring motor vehicle insurance reporting by providing information to the designated agent.

    Section 21. Neither the state nor the designated agent are liable to any person for gathering,

managing, or using the information in the database as provided in this Act.

    Section 22. For the purposes of this Act, the term, commercial motor vehicle insurance coverage, means an insurance policy that includes motor vehicle liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or personal injury coverage.

    Section 23. Each insurer that issues a policy that includes motor vehicle liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or personal injury coverage shall submit to the designated agent a record of each motor vehicle insurance policy in effect for any vehicle registered or garaged in the state. The record shall be submitted to the designated agent before the seventh and twenty-first day of each month as the previous submission that was issued by the insurer.

    Section 24. Each insurer that issues commercial motor vehicle insurance coverage shall, before the seventh day of each month, provide to the designated agent a record of each commercial motor vehicle insurance policy in effect for any vehicle registered or garaged in the state as of the previous month that was issued by the insurer.

    Section 25. Any record provided by an insurer pursuant to section 23 of this Act shall include:

            (1)    The name, date of birth, and driver license number, if the insured provides a driver license number to the insurer, of each insured owner or operator, and the address of the named insured;

            (2)    The make, year, and vehicle identification number of each insured vehicle; and

            (3)    The policy number and effective date of each policy.

    Each insurer shall provide this information by an electronic means or by another form the designated agent agrees to accept.

    Section 26. Any record provided by an insurer pursuant to section 24 of this Act shall include:

            (1)    The named insured;

            (2)    The policy number, effective date, and expiration date of each policy; and

            (3)    The following information, if available:

            (a)    The name, date of birth, and driver license number of each insured owner or operator, and the address of the named insured; and

            (b)    The make, year, and vehicle identification number of each insured vehicle.

    Each insurer shall provide this information by an electronic means or by another form the designated agent agrees to accept.

    Section 27. The secretary of the Department of Revenue may assess a civil penalty against an insurer of up to two hundred fifty dollars for each day the insurer fails to comply with this Act. If an insurer shows that the failure to comply with the provisions of this Act was inadvertent, accidental,

or the result of excusable neglect, the secretary shall excuse the civil penalty. Any money collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the uninsured motor vehicle fund established by section 16 of this Act.

    Section 28. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund the sum of six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, to the Department of Revenue for the purpose of conducting an uninsured motorist identification database. The division shall contract with a designated agent by October 1, 2013, to determine the feasibility of the program. The designated agent shall implement the provisions of the program established by this Act and report its findings to the division on the percentage of uninsured motor vehicles in the state. The report shall be submitted to the division by February 28, 2014.

    However, notification to the owner that the owner's motor vehicle is noncompliant with the provisions of this Act is not required in this initial report. Nor may the division impose any fees imposed by section 15 of this Act before July 1, 2014.

    If the initial report shows the percentage of uninsured motor vehicles in South Dakota is less than ten percent, then the contract with the designated agent shall be voided by June 30, 2014. Any amounts appropriated in this section not lawfully expended or obligated by June  30, 2014, if the program is voided, shall revert in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4-8. If the initial report shows the percentage of uninsured motor vehicles is ten percent or greater, the division and the designated agent shall implement all of the provisions of this Act beginning on July 1, 2014. The contract with the designated agent shall extend until June 30, 2016.

    Section 29. The secretary of revenue shall approve vouchers and the state auditor shall draw warrants to pay expenditures authorized by this Act.

    Section 30. Any amounts appropriated in this Act not lawfully expended or obligated by June  30, 2016, shall revert in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4-8."