State Dems refuse to repeal auto insurance mandate

Little Tommy Nelson, Dave Hansen and other Dems in the state legislature apparently don’t care how it affects Wisconsin residents.

From the Dec. 4th Van Roy’s Views:

In the March 6 and October 9 editions of Van Roy’s Views, I thoroughly explained the costly auto insurance mandates that were passed by Democrats in the legislature and signed into law by Governor Doyle. (If this issue doesn’t sound familiar to you, please click the links above.) These changes were approved in June without any public hearings and without any justification for why the changes were necessary. Most of the mandates went into effect on November 1, so customers are now receiving notices about the mandates and the premium increases caused by them as their policies come up for renewal.

During the budget debate, it was estimated that if these new mandates became law, premiums could increase by as much as 33-43%. Unfortunately, the mandates did become law, but we have heard of actual cases where premiums have risen for some individuals by as much as 70%. Consider these specific facts received by a fellow legislator from a 26 year old, single mother living in Milwaukee and struggling to get by. She drives a 1993 Plymouth Acclaim and carries a non-standard auto insurance policy with liability coverage only. Prior to the auto insurance mandates, she paid $1,177.92 per year to insure her vehicle. Under the new law, she is now forced to pay $1,786.68 per year. This is an increase of $608.76 or 52%.

I vigorously fought against these costly mandates by sending a letter to the Joint Committee on Finance urging them to remove these policy provisions from the state budget proposal. The Democrats on the committee voted to keep the provisions in. I voted for specific amendments on the floor to remove the provisions from the state budget, but they were defeated by Democrats who have majority-control in the Assembly. Furthermore, I sent a letter to Governor Doyle urging him to veto the provisions out of the budget, something he did not do.

I have co-sponsored Rep. John Nygren’s stand-alone legislation, Assembly Bill 525, that would repeal most of these mandates. Enough public pressure was brought to bear that the Democratic Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Insurance finally agreed to hold a public hearing on the bill. A four hour public hearing was held on November 22, and despite all the testimony showing how the mandates are hurting Wisconsin families, the Chairman made it clear that the hearing was for informational purposes only and the bill would never receive a vote.

I do not understand why the majority-party made these changes in the first place that restrict your ability as a consumer to choose the level of insurance coverage you want and jeopardize your ability to get it at a price you can afford. Furthermore, I am at a total loss as to why now, when the prediction of higher premiums has come true and real families from all across Wisconsin are taking real financial hits, they refuse to repeal these costly mandates. Given the state of our economy, I believe that now is the worst time to place increased financial burdens on Wisconsin families who are already struggling through financially difficult times. Repealing the auto insurance mandates is simply the right thing to do.

Karl Van Roy (R) represents the residents of the 90th Assembly District

Residents of Wisconsin are you going to continue to let the Democrats of this state stick it to you without fighting back?  How’s that promised hope and change working out for you?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Leibham: Repeal Majority’s Car Insurance Changes (lakeshorelaments.com)
• State Budget Ripple Effect:Paying More For Your Car Insurance (maciverinstitute.com)