The Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance on Feb. 17 voted to pass Senate Bill 42 as amended, a bill that would create a Kansas Real Time Motor Vehicle Insurance Verification Act and a web-based system for verifying motor vehicle liability insurance.

The bill sponsor’s advisor, identified in the hearing as Eileen, told the committee the bill “would establish a, web based online insurance verification system for the verification of evidence of motor vehicle liability insurance.” The committee approved a technical amendment to correct the act’s name in the text; Senator Francisco moved the amendment and Senator Gossage seconded. The amendment passed by voice vote.

Why it matters: supporters said the system is intended as a verification tool for law enforcement and state agencies to check whether a policy is valid at the time of a stop or registration. Committee members pressed staff and the reviser on how the bill handles insurer system outages, what the verification system does versus insurer-provided web services, and whether motorists still must carry proof of insurance.

Key details from committee discussion:
- The bill creates a new act titled the Kansas Real Time Motor Vehicle Insurance Verification Act and adds sections establishing an insurance verification system and related duties for insurers and the commissioner.
- The bill requires insurers to establish web services that respond to verification requests in compliance with specifications set by the commissioner; the committee clarified there are two elements: (1) insurers’ systems that respond to web-service requests, and (2) the insurance verification system that law enforcement and agencies would query.
- The committee discussed planned and unplanned downtime. New section 6 permits insurers “reasonable downtime for maintenance,” and the bill allows immunity from civil and administrative penalties where insurers make good-faith efforts to comply or where outages are beyond insurer control as determined by the Kansas Department of Revenue. Committee members said that could create situations in which law enforcement cannot verify coverage during an outage and that motorists may need a paper or electronic backup.
- The bill leaves in place statutory requirements that motorists furnish proof of insurance at stops and registration; committee members confirmed motorists must still have proof (paper or a photo/image on a portable device) even after the verification system is implemented. The text on electronic images says an officer may view only the displayed image and not other contents of the device.

Formal action: Senator Fagg moved the committee to pass SB 42 as amended; Senator Rose seconded. The committee passed the bill by voice vote and will send it to general orders.

What’s next: With committee approval, the bill is expected to move to the Senate floor and to general orders for further consideration.