There were a number of bills on the calendars today:

The Senate was to consider Rep. Lord’s amendment, HB 994, to the SB 69 law passed two years ago concerning motor vehicle insurance and proof of coverage needed for same. There have been many meetings concerning the Dept. of Motor Vehicles' inability to get the database, as required in SB 69, functioning in the time period outlined. This bill, as it moves to Senate Floor, moves out the time frame to February 1, 2003. Basically, until that time, proof of insurance (insurance identification card) will be sufficient proof of insurance. After that time, if a person is stopped by a police officer, the database is to reflect whether or not that vehicle is covered by insurance. As the bill was not brought up on the Calendar due to the President’s visit, this bill will roll to the February 1, 2002 Senate calendar.

In the House, two specialty license plate tags were also on the calendar. HR 262 creates a special fund to be used by the Dept. of Agriculture in an effort to sterilize more dogs and cats to eliminate overpopulation of animals. HR 646 creates the Veterans’ Nursing Home Care Trust Fund in an effort to fund veterans’ nursing home care expenses. Both of these Resolutions require a Constitutional amendment because both establish new funds for revenue generated from the sales of these tags. The only one of these the House dealt with was HR 646, which it passed. HR 262 rolls back to the General Calendar. The only other action taken was the passage of HR 787, a Resolution concerning the designation of the Public Safety and Veteran’s Highway.