An Act To Amend the Electronic Insurance Cancellation Notification Law
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0634
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: FISCHER, DAMON, BROWNE, COLLINS, FISHER, MARLEY, VAUGHAN, MAYO
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1601-A

Legislative Document 
No. 634 
H.P.467 
House of Representatives, February 8, 2005 
An Act To Amend the Electronic Insurance Cancellation 
Notification Law 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative FISCHER of Presque Isle. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAMON of Hancock and 
7J1~ 
frl· 7l/1}£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BROWNE of Vassalboro, COLLINS of Wells, FISHER of Brewer, 
MARLEY of Portland, VAUGHAN of Durham, Senators: MAYO of Sagadahoc, SA V AGE of 
Knox. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the l20th Legislature enacted a 
law in the year 
2001 to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles traveling on the 
State's public ways by requiring the Secretary of State's office 
to suspend the registrations of any vehicles for which insurance 
is cancelled if evidence of new insurance or reinstated insurance 
is 
not 
demonstrated within 
days 
of 
the 
cancellation of 
insurance; and 
WhereaS,this law became effective on January 1, 2005; and 
Whereas, this law requires insurance companies to notify the 
Secretary 
of 
State's 
office 
immediately 
upon 
cancelling 
an 
insurance policy and does not allow the Secretary of State time 
to learn whether 
the person whose 
policy was 
cancelled has 
purchased 
a 
policy with a 
different company or has 
had the 
cancelled policy reinstated; and 
Whereas, 
unnecessarily 
being mailed 
vehicles but 
because they 
the 
current 
process 
as 
defined 
by 
law 
will 
result in thousands of notifications of suspensions 
each month to persons who do indeed insure their 
were caught ln the cancellation reporting system 
simply changed insurance carriers or had policies 
reinstated; and 
Whereas, the paperwork 
and labor required to 
revoke all 
these unnecessary notifications of registration suspensions will 
create unnecessary government expense and bureaucracy and place 
unnecessary requirements upon the State's citizens to demonstrate 
evidence of insurance; and 
Whereas, 
allowing 
a 
reconciliation 
period 
within 
the 
Secretary of State's office to allow the Secretary of State to 
reconcile 
cancellations 
with 
demonstrations 
of 
evidence 
of 
insurance prior to mailing out notifications of registration 
suspensions will facilitate 
an 
efficient 
and 
cost effective 
process 
that 
will 
significantly 
reduce 
the 
number 
of 
notifications of registration suspensions to be sent, and will 
greatly improve the effectiveness of identifying those vehicles 
that are uninsured so that appropriate action can be taken to 
remove the uninsured vehicles from the State's public ways; and 
Whereas, allowing insurance companies to provide evidence of 
insurance 
of 
new 
policies 
to 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State 
with 
electronic transmittal of 
information will also decrease 
the 
number of unnecessary notifications of registration suspensions 
Page l-LR048l(1) 
being sent and increase efficiencies within the Secretary of 
State's office during the reconciliation period; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §1601-A, sub-§3, ~A, as enacted by PL 2001, 
c. 463, §2 and affected by PL 2003, c. 434, §35, is amended to 
read: 
A. 
Name, address and date of birth of the 9Wne£--(H"---GWBel'S 
e!'--t.-b-€--mo-t-o-r--'\feaiele insured person or persons named on the 
cancelled policy; and 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §1601-A, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
652, Pt. C, §l and affected by §3, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Suspension. 
Except as provided in subsection 5, 
the 
Secretary of State, upon termination of a 15-day reconciliation 
period described in subsection 6 following receipt of the notice 
required in subsection 1 and a lack of evidence of insurance, 
shall suspend, within 
~G £Q days and in accordance with section 
2482, the owner's registration certificate and plates for that 
motor 
vehicle. 
The 
suspension 
continues 
until 
that 
person 
provides evidence of insurance to the Secretary of State. 
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §1601-A, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. 
Evidence of insurance. 
An insurance company or insured 
person may 
submit evidence of 
insurance to the Secretary of 
State. 
The Secretary of State shall accept evidence of insurance 
for reinstatement of coverage or new coverage by any of the 
following means: 
A. 
Electronic transmittal; 
B. 
The Internet; 
C. 
Facsimile; 
D. 
Mail; or 
E. 
Proof of insurance presented at an office of the Bureau 
of Motor Vehicles. 
The Secretary of State has a I5-day period in which to reconcile 
the cancellations, terminations and lapses with the evidence of 
insurance for reinstatement of coverage and new coverage. 
If no 
reconciliation is made, 
the Secretary of State shall send 
a 
notification of registration suspension pursuant to subsection 4. 
Emergency clause. 
In Vlew of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows 
a 
l5-day reconciliation period at the 
Secretary of State's office 
to 
reconcile 
cancellations 
with 
reinstatements 
and 
policies 
placed with 
a 
different 
company 
before 
the 
Secretary of 
State 
sends 
out 
a 
notification of 
suspension. 
The bill also requires the Secretary of State to 
accept 
by 
electronic 
transmittal 
evidence 
of 
insurance 
for 
insured persons who are changing insurance carriers. 
Finally, 
the bill amends the content of the notification of cancellation 
to require the name, address and date of birth of the insured or 
insureds of the motor vehicle, instead of the owner or owners.