Section 303.425

Title XIX MOTOR VEHICLES, WATERCRAFT AND AVIATION

Chapter 303

Effective - 28 Aug 2023   

  303.425.  Incentive program created — use of third-party vendors — comparison of registration and financial responsibility information — use of data — access to system — suspension of registration, when, procedure — report — rulemaking authority. — 1.  (1)  There is hereby created within the department of revenue the motor vehicle financial responsibility enforcement and compliance incentive program.  The department of revenue may enter into contractual agreements with third-party vendors to facilitate the necessary technology and equipment, maintenance thereof, and associated program management services.

  (2)  The department of revenue or a third-party vendor shall utilize technology to compare vehicle registration information with the financial responsibility information accessible through the system.  The department of revenue shall utilize this information to identify motorists who are in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.  The department of revenue may offer offenders under this program the option of pretrial diversion as an alternative to statutory fines or reinstatement fees prescribed under the motor vehicle financial responsibility law as a method of encouraging compliance and discouraging recidivism.

  (3)  The department of revenue or third-party vendors shall not use any data collected from or technology associated with any automated motor vehicle financial responsibility enforcement system.  For purposes of this subdivision, "motor vehicle financial responsibility enforcement system" means a device consisting of a camera or cameras and vehicle sensor or sensors installed to record motor vehicle financial responsibility violations.

  (4)  All fees paid to or collected by third-party vendors under sections 303.420 to 303.440 may come from violator diversion fees generated by the pretrial diversion option established under this section.

  2.  The department of revenue may authorize law enforcement agencies or third-party vendors to use technology to collect data for the investigation, detection, analysis, and enforcement of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.

  3.  The department of revenue may authorize traffic enforcement officers or third-party vendors to administer the processing and issuance of notices of violation, the collection of fees for a violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law, or the referral of cases for prosecution, under the program.

  4.  Access to the system shall be restricted to qualified agencies and the third-party vendors with which the department of revenue contracts for purposes of the program, provided that any third-party vendor with which a contract is executed to provide necessary technology, equipment, or maintenance for the program shall be authorized as necessary to collaborate for required updates and maintenance of system software.

  5.  For purposes of the program, any data collected and matched to a corresponding vehicle insurance record as verified through the system, and any Missouri vehicle registration database, may be used to identify violations of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.  Such corresponding data shall constitute evidence of the violations.

  6.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the department of revenue shall suspend, in accordance with section 303.041, the registration of any motor vehicle that is determined under the program to be in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.

  7.  The department of revenue shall send to an owner whose vehicle is identified under the program as being in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law a notice that the vehicle's registration may be suspended unless the owner, within thirty days, provides proof of financial responsibility for the vehicle or proof, in a form specified by the department of revenue, that the owner has a pending criminal charge for a violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.  The notice shall include information on steps an individual may take to obtain proof of financial responsibility and a web address to a page on the department of revenue's website where information on obtaining proof of financial responsibility shall be provided.  If proof of financial responsibility or a pending criminal charge is not provided within the time allotted, the department of revenue shall provide a notice of suspension and suspend the vehicle's registration in accordance with section 303.041, or shall send a notice of vehicle registration suspension, clearly specifying the reason and statutory grounds for the suspension and the effective date of the suspension, the right of the vehicle owner to request a hearing, the procedure for requesting a hearing, and the date by which that request for a hearing must be made, as well as informing the owner that the matter will be referred for prosecution if a satisfactory response is not received in the time allotted, informing the owner that the minimum penalty for the violation is three hundred dollars and four license points, and offering the owner participation in a pretrial diversion option to preclude referral for prosecution and registration suspension under sections 303.420 to 303.440.  The notice of vehicle registration suspension shall give a period of thirty-three days from mailing for the vehicle owner to respond, and shall be deemed received three days after mailing.  If no request for a hearing or agreement to participate in the diversion option is received by the department of revenue prior to the date provided on the notice of vehicle registration suspension, the director shall suspend the vehicle's registration, effective immediately, and refer the case to the appropriate prosecuting attorney.  If an agreement by the vehicle owner to participate in the diversion option is received by the department of revenue prior to the effective date provided on the notice of vehicle registration suspension, then upon payment of a diversion participation fee not to exceed two hundred dollars, agreement to secure proof of financial responsibility within the time provided on the notice of suspension, and agreement that such financial responsibility shall be maintained for a minimum of two years, no points shall be assessed to the vehicle owner's driver's license under section 302.302 and the department of revenue shall not take further action against the vehicle owner under sections 303.420 to 303.440, subject to compliance with the terms of the pretrial diversion option.  The department of revenue shall suspend the vehicle registration of, and shall refer the case to the appropriate prosecuting attorney for prosecution of, participating vehicle owners who violate the terms of the pretrial diversion option.  If a request for hearing is received by the department of revenue prior to the effective date provided on the notice of vehicle registration suspension, then for all purposes other than eligibility for participation in the diversion option, the effective date of the suspension shall be stayed until a final order is issued following the hearing.  The department of revenue shall suspend the registration of vehicles determined under the final order to have violated the motor vehicle financial responsibility law, and shall refer the case to the appropriate prosecuting attorney for prosecution.  Notices under this subsection shall be mailed to the vehicle owner at the last known address shown on the department of revenue's records.  The department of revenue or its third-party vendor shall issue receipts for the collection of diversion participation fees.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 1 of this section, all such fees shall be deposited into the motor vehicle financial responsibility verification and enforcement fund established in section 303.422.  A vehicle owner whose registration has been suspended under sections 303.420 to 303.440 may obtain reinstatement of the registration upon providing proof of financial responsibility and payment to the department of revenue of a nonrefundable reinstatement fee equal to the fee that would be applicable under subsection 2 of section 303.042 if the registration had been suspended under section 303.041.

  8.  Data collected or retained under the program shall not be used by any entity for purposes other than enforcement of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law.  Data collected and stored by law enforcement under the program shall be considered evidence if noncompliance with the motor vehicle financial responsibility law is confirmed.  The evidence, and an affidavit stating that the evidence and system have identified a particular vehicle as being in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law, shall constitute probable cause for prosecution and shall be forwarded in accordance with subsection 7 of this section to the appropriate prosecuting attorney.

  9.  Owners of vehicles identified under the program as being in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law shall be provided with options for disputing such claims which do not require appearance at any state or local court of law, or administrative facility.  Any person who presents timely proof that he or she was in compliance with the motor vehicle financial responsibility law at the time of the alleged violation shall be entitled to dismissal of the charge with no assessment of fees or fines.  Proof provided by a vehicle owner to the department of revenue that the vehicle was in compliance at the time of the suspected violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law shall be recorded in the system established by the department of revenue under section 303.430.

  10.  The collection of data pursuant to this section shall be done in a manner that prohibits any bias towards a specific community, race, gender, or socioeconomic status of vehicle owner.

  11.  Law enforcement agencies, third-party vendors, or other entities authorized to operate under the program shall not sell data collected or retained under the program for any purpose or share it for any purpose not expressly authorized in this section.  All data shall be secured and any third-party vendor or other entity authorized to operate under the program may be liable for any data security breach.

  12.  The department of revenue shall not take action under sections 303.420 to 303.440 against vehicles registered as fleet vehicles under section 301.032, or against vehicles known to the department of revenue to be insured under a policy of commercial auto coverage, as such term is defined in subdivision (10) of subsection 2 of section 303.430.

  13.  Following one year after the implementation of the program, and every year thereafter, the department of revenue shall provide a report to the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chairs of the house and senate committees with jurisdictions over insurance or transportation matters, and the chairs of the house budget and senate appropriations committees.  The report shall include an evaluation of program operations, information as to the costs of the program incurred by the department of revenue, insurers, and the public, information as to the effectiveness of the program in reducing the number of uninsured motor vehicles, and anonymized demographic information including the race and zip code of vehicle owners identified under the program as being in violation of the motor vehicle financial responsibility law, and may include any additional information and recommendations for improvement of the program deemed appropriate by the department of revenue.  The department of revenue may, by rule, require the state, counties, and municipalities to provide information in order to complete the report.

  14.  The department of revenue may promulgate rules as necessary for the implementation of this section.  Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028.  This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2023, shall be invalid and void.

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(L. 2023 S.B. 398)