A BILL that languished in the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee for nine months was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday after a stakeholder expressed support for the measure.
The JGO Committee chair, Rep. Celina R. Babauta, abstained while the rest of the members present voted in favor of House Bill 22-3. Reps. Tina Sablan and Richard Lizama were excused.
Authored by Rep. Joseph Flores, the bill would require insurance firms to make the expiration of vehicle insurance consistent with the vehicle registration’s expiration.
Flores said this will give motorists an option to pay a one-time fee and change the renewal registration dates of their vehicle.
In doing so, he added, there will be a “better harmony” between the renewal registration dates of the vehicles and the finances of motorists who register more than one vehicle.
In addition, by “mirroring” the expirations of vehicle insurance and registration, “all motorists will be protected or covered from any unforeseeable circumstance that may cause serious financial and/or physical strains,” the bill stated.
Prior to the House vote on the bill, Northern Marianas Insurance Association or NMIA President Gol Corpuz spoke in favor of H.B. 22-3.
He said the NMIA is concerned about the convenience of their clients, and the timing of the processing of vehicle insurance applications.
Corpuz said after a discussion with Flores, “we were convinced that those issues that we have are addressed in the bill itself…. Therefore we, as an association, support this bill.”
Babauta, who blocked action on the bill because the Bureau of Motor Vehicle opposed it, thanked Corpus for his comments and said she would yield to the president of the association.
But she also hopes that in the future, the local insurance association would consider providing six-month insurance, which is available in the states.
She said she does not believe that H.B. 22-3 would generate revenue for the government. “How can he, the author, say that when this [bill] offers a significant discount for two or more vehicles?”
She said the fact that the insurance association president supports the idea of having the same expiration dates for vehicle insurance and registration “is [another] reason we don’t…need this legislation as, they, [the insurance companies] can easily write it in their policies.”
She said her committee was never given the opportunity to debate and “thoroughly discuss” the bill’s pros and cons because the author requested House Floor Leader Ralph Yumul to exercise his authority to “yank it out of the committee, so it was yanked before we could address any flaw in the bill.”
But, she reiterated, “I yield to the association president because he made the effort to come here and state the position of the association.”
Flores, for his part, said motorists who own two vehicles will have to pay $25 to change the expiration date of their registration to coincide with the expiration date of their vehicle insurance. That is the revenue-generating part of the measure, he added.
As for Babauta’s claim that her committee never had the opportunity to hear the concerns of the insurance association, Flores said, “The insurance association was never informed [by the committee] about this bill since it was introduced in January.”
Northern Marianas Insurance Association president Gol Corpuz testifies in support of House Bill 22-3 during a House session on Friday.
Rep. Joseph Flores, left, with Speaker Edmund Villagomez, center, and House Minority Leader Angel A. Demapan during a short break from the House session on Friday.
Rep. Celina R. Babauta talks about House Bill 22-3 during House session on Friday.
