Committee approves measure to raise insurance requirements for drivers convicted of DUI; industry raises affordability concerns

The Full House Insurance Committee voted to report Senate Bill 121 favorably after a public hearing in which sponsor Senator Harbin said the bill would raise minimum automobile liability limits for drivers convicted of driving under the influence and impose a graduated requirement for repeat offenders.

Senator Harbin told the committee that current state minimums are "$25,000" for property damage and typically "$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident" for bodily injury and that those levels have not been increased in about 14 years. He said the proposal would require higher limits after a DUI conviction and still higher limits after a second conviction; the bill would require proof of the higher…