The General Assembly finds and declares that: (1) there is an unacceptably large number of uninsured motorists in the State; (2) uninsured motorists cause harm to insured drivers by increasing the cost of automobile insurance for everyone required to purchase uninsured motorist coverage; (3) uninsured motorists are a financial drain on the State and require substantial funding for the Uninsured Division of the Fund to cover legitimate claims of innocent pedestrians, passengers, and drivers who are injured by uninsured motorists; (4) to encourage uninsured motorists to become insured, the law for many years has provided financial penalties to be imposed on uninsured motorists and a substantial number of penalties are issued every year; (5) to further address the rate of uninsured motorists, the General Assembly passed legislation (Chapter 446 of the Acts of 2016) to require the Motor Vehicle Administration to conduct a program that waived substantial portions of delinquent uninsured motorist fines as an incentive for eligible participants to become insured, but less than 4% of eligible uninsured motorists actually entered the program; (6) the General Assembly also passed legislation (Chapter 401 of the Acts of 2016) to require drivers to carry proof of automobile insurance; (7) despite these statutory efforts, the rate of uninsured motorists has remained stubbornly high, hovering at about 12% according to the Insurance Research Council; (8) it is in the best interests of the State to address the rate of uninsured motorists in the State in a comprehensive and coordinated fashion; (9) the Fund was established in 1973 to provide the financial security required under the Maryland Vehicle Law to individuals who are unable to obtain automobile insurance from private insurers; (10) in addition to the Fund, motor vehicle liability insurance in the State is provided through a system of private insurers, insurance producers, and independent insurance producers; (11) the Uninsured Division is uniquely positioned to reduce the rate of uninsured motorists by conducting outreach and incentivizing, educating, and encouraging uninsured motorists to obtain automobile insurance from private insurers or the Fund; and (12) the effort to reduce the rate of uninsured motorists would be greatly enhanced by making the Uninsured Division the primary State agency with responsibility to conduct outreach and incentivize, educate, and encourage uninsured motorists to become insured.
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