The low-cost auto insurance bill for residents of the Clark County faced some rough questioning at the Senate hearing. According to the bill most Nevada drivers would be charged a fee in order to subsidize the low-cost insurance program.
There was some serious vote trading on the bill which was sought by Assemblyman, Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas and it received two-thirds of the support that it required to move it out last month, from the Assembly.
Two-thirds vote was required by the bill because there would be a 50-cent fee that would be imposed on each insured vehicle annually in order to establish a low-cost insurance policy for the Clark County residents that belonged to the low-income group and were struggling to pay for the regular auto insurance policies.
While testifying for the Assembly Bill 299 in the Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee, Atkinson stated that the intent of the program was to find a way to bring down the number of uninsured drivers on the roads of Nevada. The figures were put at 19% by the Nevada Sage Commission during the report in 2010.
He went on to state that there were too many uninsured drivers from the low-income groups only because of the high cost of the premiums which were way beyond their reach. During summer, he was told by many of the constituents that they were all having a tough time paying for insurance despite the fact that they were great drivers and had no driving convictions on record.
Atkinson also stated that his proposal was based on a similar program in California which has extended auto insurance cover to a number of motorists.
This program would be administered through the Nevada Division of Insurance and would bring down the cost of the auto insurance premiums by around $184 per year, he stated.
Atkinson also stated that there were a number of individual requirements that one will have to meet in order to be eligible for the program, and this includes having a good driving record as per the definition in the bill.
Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, has stated that the bill would also end up creating a distribution of wealth, which he would then oppose. The eligibility criteria for low-cost insurance at 250% of fed poverty guidelines also suggested that a number of residents from Clark County could participate. Roberson clearly stated that he was against this form of wealth distribution.
