A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE APPROPRIATE INTERIM COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE THE ISSUES
SURROUNDING UNINSURED MOTORISTS.
WHEREAS, the Mandatory
Financial Responsibility Act requires owners of motor vehicles to possess the
means to pay damages arising out of any motor vehicle crash for which they are
responsible, either through proper self-insurance or through the purchase of a
liability insurance policy; and
WHEREAS, the insurance research
council studied the issue of uninsured motorists between 1995 and 1997 and
found that thirty percent of New Mexico's drivers were uninsured during that
period; and
WHEREAS, law-abiding, responsible
drivers bear the costs of uninsured drivers by paying higher insurance premiums
and not being properly compensated when they are the victims of uninsured
drivers; and
WHEREAS, personal economics may
be one reason that some drivers do not purchase automobile liability insurance;
and
WHEREAS, the legislature and
the state of New Mexico have tried various means, with limited success, to
reduce the number of uninsured motorists on New Mexico's roads;
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 interim committee to study the
issues surrounding uninsured motorists and to report its findings and recommendations,
if any, to the second session of the forty-sixth legislature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico
legislative council.