Committee advances bill requiring PennDOT online insurance‑verification system

The House Transportation Committee on Monday reported House Bill 710 as amended, directing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to establish an online verification system to check vehicle insurance coverage electronically.

Committee staff summarized the bill as creating an Online Liability Verification, or OLV, system that PennDOT may build directly or contract to a third party. The system "must be a secure data system accessible by PennDOT, the courts, and law enforcement," staff said, and insurers that issue at least 1,000 vehicle‑insurance policies would be required to provide coverage information to the system.

The bill includes motorist protections: PennDOT must continue sending notices to vehicle owners when no coverage is found in the system and give owners an opportunity to provide evidence of coverage. An amendment offered in committee changes the bill—s effective date to 18 months and makes technical edits requested by PennDOT; the committee adopted that amendment with no negative votes recorded.

Chairman Benninghoff, the bill—s sponsor, urged the committee to act, saying the policy responds to frequent constituent problems. "It—s just really cumbersome," Benninghoff said of the current process, describing cases in which residents receive notices or citations after buying a new vehicle and coverage does not transfer correctly.

Committee staff said PennDOT and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania support the legislation after the technical changes. After discussion and the amendment vote, the committee voted to report HB 710 out of committee as amended; no roll‑call tally was read for the committee vote in the transcript.

The measure now moves to the Senate for further consideration. The committee did not set a specific implementation plan beyond the 18‑month effective date in the adopted amendment.