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Committee backs bill to let drive‑away companies register fleet‑size plates to cut insurance costs
Summary
House Bill 188, sponsored by Representative Robert Duvall, would allow drive‑away vehicle transport companies to set a maximum number of vehicles for which they purchase plates, a change the sponsor says will lower insurance premiums and keep some businesses in Kentucky.
Representative Robert Duvall, sponsor of House Bill 188, told the House Transportation Committee the measure is intended to clarify registration and insurance exposure for companies that drive vehicles for others over long distances.
Duvall said one Warren County company closed in April 2024 because of legal uncertainty about how many vehicles could be on the road at once for a drive‑away business. He told the committee that insurance premiums for those businesses in Kentucky were about $300,000 per year compared with roughly $120,000 in neighboring states, a difference he attributed to unclear statutory application. “This improved clarity limits the exposure for the insurance company, thereby decreasing their premiums,” Duvall said.
Duvall said House Bill 188 would let drive‑away businesses define the maximum number of vehicles they transport at any given time and purchase that number of plates. He emphasized the bill would not change auto dealer tags and would exclude vehicle transport by full‑mount trailers or semi‑trailers; he said he was preparing a technical amendment for the House floor to make that exclusion explicit. Duvall also read a written statement from a business owner, Oakley Michelle Vaughn: “The outcome of your decision will determine the future of our business…We have held off on pursuing that route for the simple fact that Kentucky is our home, and we want to support it first, and we just hope that Kentucky would want us to stay.”
No committee amendment was recorded during the hearing. Chairman Blanton reported House Bill 188 with a favorable expression to the full House. The committee roll call recorded one dissenting vote: Representative Hodgson voted no; other members voted to report the bill favorably.
The sponsor and his office indicated they intend to offer clarifying language on the House floor to make explicit that auto‑dealer tags and full‑mount trailer transports are not covered by this change.
