MINUTES OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Sixty-seventh Session
June 29, 1993
The Senate Committee on Transportation was called to order by Chairman William R. O'Donnell, at 3:10 p.m., on Tuesday, June 29, 1993, in Room 226 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Meeting Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman
Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen, Vice Chairman
Senator Mark A. James
Senator Leonard V. Nevin
Senator Thomas J. Hickey
Senator Lori L. Brown
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Joseph M. Neal, Jr. (Excused)
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Paul Mouritsen, Senior Research Analyst
Terri Jo Wittenberg, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Robert Crowell, Lobbyist, Reno Cab Company
Larry Bell, Whittlesea Bell Company
Galen D. Denio, Professional Engineer, Commissioner, Nevada Public Service Commission (PSC)
G. Barton Blackstock, Bureau Chief, Driver Control, Driver License Division, Utah Department of Public Safety
Fredrick W. Harrell, Lobbyist, Motorcycle Dealers Association of Nevada
Martin Bibb, Lobbyist, National Association of Independent Insurers
Kimberly A. Bennion, Lobbyist, Nevada Division of California State Automobile Association (CSAA)
James Jenks, Lobbyist, U.S. Inc.
Raymond L. Sparks, Chief, Registration Division, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV)
Charles Knaus, Property/Casualty Actuary, Nevada Department of Insurance
Harvey Whittemore, Lobbyist
Chairman O'Donnell opened the hearing on Senate Bill (S.B.) 561.
Senate Bill 561: Authorizes certain persons who hold certificate of public convenience and necessity to lease taxicab to independent contractor.
Robert Crowell, Lobbyist, Reno Cab Company, testified in support of S.B. 561. Mr. Crowell said this bill will rectify a severe problem that the northern Nevada cab companies are experiencing at this time. He said one cab company is in Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) and has received authority from the bankruptcy court to lease their cabs to independent contractors. He added, currently, leasing taxicabs to independent contractors is not authorized by the rules and regulations of the Public Service Commission (PSC). Mr. Crowell said he was also in support of the amendment which limits this bill to counties with less than 400,000 people.
Larry Bell, Whittlesea Bell Company, stated he is in support of S.B. 561.
Senator Nevin said the above referenced amendment was agreed upon by all the parties involved.
Senator Brown said she has received letters from members of the professional cab drivers association and steel workers union. She asked if these groups are in support of the bill with the proposed amendment.
Senator Nevin replied the bill would not affect them since the amendment makes the bill effective only in counties whose population is less than 400,000 people.
Galen D. Denio, Professional Engineer, Commissioner, Nevada Public Service Commission (PSC), testified in regard to S.B. 561. Mr. Denio said the PSC held three workshops with the taxicab industry and, generally speaking, the workshops indicated there is widespread support for this type of a bill.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on S.B. 561 and opened the hearing on Assembly Bill (A.B.) 507.
Assembly Bill 507: Establishes system for verifying that owners of motor vehicles maintain mandatory proof of financial responsibility.
G. Barton Blackstock, Bureau Chief, Driver Control, Driver License Division, Utah Department of Public Safety, testified in support of A.B. 507. Mr. Blackstock said he has been involved with the financial responsibility program for a number of years. He continued, the system in Utah identifies motorists who are insured and then the program can target those motorists who are not insured.
Chairman O'Donnell asked how the program is funded.
Mr. Blackstock said there is a $1 surcharge attached to the registration fee to pay for this program. Mr. Blackstock added, he intends to privatize this program in Utah.
Chairman O'Donnell stated for the record:
I do have a brother who works for a company who does this sort of thing. So on A.B. 507, I would have to abstain.
Mr. Crowell, representing Farmers Insurance Company, stated Farmers Insurance Company is in opposition to A.B. 507. Mr. Crowell said this bill will require insurance companies to give their entire book of business to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV) or to a third party. He said even though the bill provides that it is a crime to divulge this type of information, he feels an obligation on behalf of their insureds that they not provide all the information in order to protect the privacy and security of their insureds.
Mr. Crowell added, the bill provides that a person be identified after they have gone without insurance for 90 days and he said he does not think the bill will work for that reason.
Fredrick W. Harrell, Lobbyist, Motorcycle Dealers Association of Nevada, testified against A.B. 507. Mr. Harrell said there is a $2 million surplus earmarked to pay for this and he asked why the additional $1 is necessary.
Martin Bibb, Lobbyist, National Association of Independent Insurers, stated his organization is opposed to A.B. 507.
Kimberly A. Bennion, Lobbyist, Nevada Division of California State Automobile Association (CSAA), stated CSAA is opposed to A.B. 507.
James Jenks, Lobbyist, U.S. Inc., stated he is in opposition to A.B. 507.
Raymond L. Sparks, Chief, Registration Division, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV), testified in regard to A.B. 507. Mr. Sparks said the current insurance verification program is funded through reinstatement fees assessed on persons who have had their vehicle registration suspended and revenues are about $1 million per year. Mr. Sparks said the bill is based on a workable concept and the DMV is not opposed to privatization wherever that can be shown to be efficient. He said he thinks this bill will weaken the mandatory insurance program in Nevada. He said a person will be able to go uninsured for at least 90 days before he or she would be identified and then the person would have another 30 days with which to acquire insurance and if he or she did acquire insurance within that 30 days, then there would be no sanction or consequence to the motorist.
Charles Knaus, Property/Casualty Actuary, Nevada Department of Insurance, testified in regard to A.B. 507. Mr. Knaus said the bill has many technical problems and it would be very hard to make it workable. He said it would only be a matter of time before the motoring public would figure out that it is easier to avoid insurance requirements under this law than it is under the current law and a lot of insureds would be inclined to take their chances.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 507 and opened the hearing on A.B. 665.
Assembly Bill 665: Requires department of transportation to study alternative methods of establishing system of emergency telephones along most frequently traveled public highways.
Since there was no one present to testify on this bill, Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 665 and opened the hearing on A.B. 726.
Assembly Bill 726: Requires certain motor carriers to designate person to train employees and to ensure compliance with federal laws relating to persons with disabilities.
Since there was no one present to testify on this bill, Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 726 and opened the hearing on A.B. 730.
Assembly Bill 730: Revises provisions governing account for verification of insurance.
Mr. Sparks testified in regard to A.B. 730. Mr. Sparks said this bill would make sure there is enough funding to operate the current insurance verification program for the next biennium.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 730 and opened the work session on A.B. 157.
Assembly Bill 157: Makes various changes relating to driver's licenses and registration of motor vehicles.
Mr. Sparks went through the amendment for the committee. He said this amendment includes some of the provisions in A.B. 507 and resolves some conflicts created by that bill.
Chairman O'Donnell asked if the address is necessary information in order to make a match.
Mr. Sparks said the address is not necessary information and the vehicle identification number and the name of the policy holder would be the most important information. Mr. Sparks continued explaining the amendment.
Chairman O'Donnell asked Mr. Sparks if he intends to administer the program in-house to make sure it absolutely works or to privatize this program.
Mr. Sparks said their intention is to try to establish the program in-house initially and if it can be shown that a vendor can perform these services at least as efficiently as the state then serious consideration should be given to privatizing the program.
Chairman O'Donnell said this bill with the amendment goes a long way toward insuring that the people on our highways will maintain insurance and that is the whole idea behind having an insurance verification program.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the work session on A.B. 157 and reopened the hearing on A.B. 726.
Harvey Whittemore, Lobbyist, testified in support of A.B. 726. Mr. Whittemore said this bill would require certain motor carriers to designate a person to train employees and to insure compliance with federal laws relating to persons with disabilities. Mr. Whittemore stated he is not being paid for this testimony and is representing a disabled individual on a pro bono basis.
Mr. Capurro stated his organization supports this bill.
Mr. Bell stated he also supports this bill.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 726 and reopened the hearing on A.B. 665.
Ms. Bennion testified in support of A.B. 665. Ms. Bennion said her organization believes that an emergency telephone system on the public highways is Nevada is good public policy and a good safety measure for people traveling on the highways.
Senator Nevin said this bill has come up before and he asked the research analyst to check into the background of this bill.
Chairman O'Donnell said technology has changed since the first time this bill came up and perhaps there have been some breakthroughs which would make this system feasible in Nevada.
Chairman O'Donnell closed the hearing on A.B. 665.
SENATOR NEVIN MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 726.
SENATOR HICKEY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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SENATOR NEVIN MOVED TO DO PASS A.B. 730.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR JAMES ABSTAINED FROM THE VOTE. SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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SENATOR NEVIN MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 157.
SENATOR JAMES SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS HICKEY AND BROWN ABSTAINED FROM THE VOTE. SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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SENATOR NEVIN MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS S.B. 561.
SENATOR HICKEY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR JAMES ABSTAINED FROM THE VOTE. SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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SENATOR NEVIN MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS S.B. 498.
SENATOR HICKEY SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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SENATOR BROWN MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 176.
SENATOR NEVIN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR NEAL WAS ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
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There being no further business before the committee, Chairman O'Donnell adjourned the meeting at 4:45 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Terri Jo Wittenberg,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator William R. O'Donnell, Chairman
DATE:
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Senate Committee on Transportation
June 29, 1993
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