By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Governor Riley has decided to block legislation that would have raised the minimum amount of liability insurance that Alabama motorists must buy.
Riley's communications director, Jeff Emerson, says the governor agrees with the bill's intentions. But he will not sign it into law because the bill is worded so that the new insurance requirements would take effect the moment he finished his signature.
Emerson said Riley would support passage of the bill in a future session of the Legislature provided it has an implementation period for insurance companies to prepare new policies and motorists to buy them.
The legislation was a compromise between plaintiff lawyers and insurance companies. It would have required motorists to have at 25-thousand dollars in coverage for one injury or death, 50-thousand dollars for multiple injuries or deaths, and 25-thousand dollars for property damage. The current requirements are 20-thousand dollars, 40-thousand dollars and ten-thousand dollars.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)