Governor Sonny Perdue Signs Proof of Insurance Legislation

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law today legislation that will allow for flexibility in the implementation of the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety's (DMVS) electronic insurance database.

"House Bill 191 will go a long way toward making the lives of Georgia's motorists easier and the jobs of tax commissioners around this state more customer-friendly," said Governor Perdue. "This legislation will give much needed flexibility for purchasing vehicle tags until the state's electronic insurance database is fully operational."

The legislation creating the database was passed in 2000 (Senate Bill 69) to remedy problems associated with verifying proof of insurance. Compiling information for the database began following the 2002 General Assembly. Although the new system was set for statutory implementation on February 1, 2003, some individuals were not included and unable to purchase vehicle tags, despite having insurance.

The bill permits insurance cards to be used as proof of insurance until January 1, 2004, in order to create a smooth transition between making the database system operational and allowing citizens a period of time to ensure their insurance data is correctly entered into the system. The DMVS expects the database to be fully operational by the January 1, 2004 deadline.

The bill also addresses problems that have arisen during implementation of the database. It will end exclusions from the database except for commercial fleet policies where the insurer does not collect the Vehicle Identification Number, self-insured vehicles and vehicles registered under the International Registration Plan.