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Transportation Interim Committee

MINUTES OF THE

TRANSPORTATION INTERIM COMMITTEE

        
Wednesday, October 22, 1997 - 2:00 p.m. - 403 State Capitol


Members Present:
    Sen. John P. Holmgren,
        Senate Chair
    Rep. Marda Dillree
        House Chair
    Sen L. Alma Mansell
    Sen. Eddie "Ed" P. Mayne
    Sen. David H. Steele
    Sen. Nathan C. Tanner
    Rep. Gerry A. Adair
    Rep. Brian R. Allen
    Rep. Trisha S. Beck
    Rep. Ralph Becker
    Rep. Ron Bigelow
    Rep. DeMar "Bud" Bowman
    Rep. Don E. Bush
    Rep. Brad King
    Rep. Peter C. Knudson
    Rep. Joseph G. Murray
    Rep. Richard M. Siddoway
    Rep. David Ure
    Rep. David L. Zolman, Sr.


Members Absent:
    Rep. Gene Davis
    Rep. Lowell A. Nelson

Staff Present:
    Benjamin N. Christensen,
        Research Analyst
    Dee S Larsen,
        Associate General Counsel
    Junie G. Anderson,
        Committee Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.     Committee Business _ Chair Dillree called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.

    MOTION: Rep. Adair moved to approve the minutes of the August 20, 1997 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Sen. Mansell, Sen. Mayne, Rep. Beck, Rep. Becker, Rep. Bowman, Rep. King, Rep. Knudson, and Rep. Siddoway absent for the vote.

2.      Transportation Code Recodification (Draft Legislation) _ Dee Larsen, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, distributed a copy of draft legislation titled, "Transportation Code Recodification." He also circulated an index of the draft and explained that a public comment period will be observed for the next few weeks. He said the committee could then take action on the draft bill at its next meeting.
        
3.      Uninsured Motorist Database Audit and Sunset Review (Draft Legislation ) _ Ben Christensen, Research Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, explained that H.B. 33, "Uninsured Motorist Identification Database," which passed during the 1994 General Session provided for the establishment of a program to track compliance with motor vehicle insurance requirements and that the program was up for sunset review again at this time.
    Kent Beers, Office of the Legislative Auditor General, reported on the audit of the state's uninsured motorist identification program. He provided a slide presentation on the results attained by Insure-Rite, Inc., the company contracted by the state to conduct the program.

    Rep. Allen expressed concern that the records provided by Insure-Rite, Inc., were not completely accurate in demonstrating the decrease in the number of uninsured motorists.

    Sen. Steele said there has been a dramatic change in the number of uninsured motorists because of the ability to identify them from the database. He distributed a letter addressed to him from Colonel Richard A. Greenwood, Utah Highway Patrol, showing the benefit of the database to the Highway Patrol.
                                
    Gary Gunrud, Assistant Superintendent, Utah Highway Patrol, said that due to the uninsured motorist database, the troopers have the ability to run a registration check to determine insurance status at the time the motorist is pulled over.

    Richard Kasteler, President, Insure-Rite, Inc., explained the accuracy of the database program. He said that the number of uninsured motorists have significantly decreased after being notified by Insure-Rite that they must purchase automobile insurance.

    Sen. Steele distributed a letter from W. Val Oveson and Rodney G. Marrelli, Utah State Tax Commission, indicating that the state's and the counties' ability to collect revenues relies on the uninsured motorist database to identify the Utah vehicles registered in other states. This can be done because of S.B. 161, "Motor Vehicle Compliance With Insurance, Registration, and Sales Tax Requirements," that passed during the last session.

    Sen. Steele also presented draft legislation titled, "Enforcement and Penalties of Uninsured Motor Vehicle Violations." Rep. Dillree said it is unrealistic to expect that having the database without enforcement tools will significantly reduce the uninsured motorist rate.

    Rep. Ure said that the draft legislation may put a heavy mandate on the small businesses and people with multiple cars.

     MOTION: Rep. Siddoway moved to authorize the continuance of the database program for four years, and to have an annual report to identify any reduction of uninsured motorists. The motion passed with Sen. Holmgren, Rep. Allen, Rep. Murray, and Rep. Zolman voting in opposition.

     MOTION: Sen. Steele moved to provide opportunity to put draft legislation titled, "Enforcement and Penalties of Uninsured Motor Vehicle Violations," on the November agenda. The motion passed unanimously.

4.     Collection of Motor Vehicle Fees (Draft Legislation) _ Dee Larsen, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, distributed draft legislation titled, "Collection of Uniform Motor Vehicle Fees Amendment," and briefed the committee on the draft.

    Rodney Marrelli, Tax Commission, provided some history relating to the collection of motor vehicle fees.

    Sen. Mansell and Rep. Bush chaired a working group created to study the issue of raising motor vehicle fees. Sen. Mansell reported on the findings of the task force. He explained the provisions of the draft. Rep. Bush said the bill does not completely solve the problem but it is a realistic step forward.

    Kathleen Howell, Cache County Assessor, spoke on behalf of the county assessors. She said that a study of the issue determined that the county could handle the vehicle registration process more efficiently than the state could perform the process.

    Rep. Adair asked about the fiscal note that may come with the bill.     Mr. Marrelli said it would cost approximately $350,000 to implement the draft legislation.

    David Hahn, Weber County, said that increasing the reimbursement rate would also increase the reimbursement rate from the counties in which the state runs the program. He explained that this would stress those county budgets.

     MOTION: Rep. Adair moved to endorse the draft legislation, "Collection of Uniform Motor Vehicle Fees Amendment," as a committee bill with an effective date of July 1, 1998.

     SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Bigelow moved to endorse the draft legislation, "Collection of Uniform Motor Vehicle Fees Amendment," as a committee bill with an effective date of July 1, 1998, and to amend the bill as follows: Page 2, Line 16: delete "annually" and insert "biannually"- Page 2, Line 17: delete line 17 and insert "(c) The adjustment may not exceed any increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for all urban" - Page 2, Line 19: delete "year" and insert "years." The substitute motion failed with Rep. Bigelow and Rep. King voting in favor of the motion.

    Action was taken on the original motion as moved by Rep. Adair. The motion passed with Rep. Becker, Rep. Bigelow, Rep. King, and Rep. Murray voting in opposition to the motion.

5.     Toll Road Issues _ Dal Hawks, Utah Department of Transportation, distributed a handout titled, "General Tolling Principles." He discussed the information provided in the handout. He also referred to the Legacy Highway project and the possibility of it becoming a toll road. He said the West Davis portion of the Legacy Highway is estimated to be completed by June 2001.

    Mr. Hawks displayed an electronic tolling device that would allow the driver to enter a toll road at highway speeds. The device, displayed in the windshield, would debit the driver's toll account without the need for him to stop to pay the toll.

    Chair Dillree said she does not support the Legacy Highway project at this point because of some transportation issues in Davis County. She said she supports the technology and the need, but would like high-occupancy vehicle "HOT" lanes to be considered as toll lanes. Byron Parker, Utah Department of Transportation, addressed the issue.

    Rep. Becker was concerned that the cost of the project should include the cost of environmental mitigation. Mr. Parker said that the cost of mitigation would be included in the cost, based on the number of acres impacted.

6.     Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and Highway Maintenance Program _ This item was not discussed due to time constraints.

7.     Other Committee Business _ Chair Dillree informed the committee that a bill relating to jurisdictional transfers would come before the committee at the November meeting.

    Thomas Warne, Utah Department of Transportation, spoke to the committee about federal funding of highways. He said there continues to be daily activity regarding transportation financing in Washington, D.C. He reported that the transportation committee passed its version of the highway bill, BESTEA; however, because of the balanced budget amendment, it was decided to hold that bill in committee and pass a six-month extension to the ISTEA bill. More developments are expected in the weeks to come, including a possible conference committee. He said whichever bill passes, Utah should get $14-80 million more federal highway funding than in years past.

8.     Adjourn _
    
    MOTION: Rep. Adair moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously at 5:28 p.m.

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