HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 72

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

W. Ken Martinez

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 first 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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