Request By:
Hon. James H. Moore III
Legal Counsel
Department of Insurance
151 Elkhorn Court
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; Joseph R. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
This letter is in response to your request for an opinion of this office regarding an interpretation of KRS 304.99-060(1), (2) and (3). These provisions are as follows:
(1) The owner of any vehicle which fails to have in full force and effect security required by Subtitle 39 of KRS Chapter 304 and who does not have any sticker or emblem affixed to the vehicle shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) and shall have the license plates thereof suspended for a period of thirty (30) days or until such time thereafter as proof, in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that such security is then and will remain in effect.
(2) The owner of any vehicle which fails to have in full force and effect the security required by Subtitle 39 of KRS Chapter 304 and who has affixed to a vehicle a sticker or emblem which he knows was not in full force and effect at that time shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) and shall have the license plates of such vehicle suspended for a period of ninety (90) days or until such time thereafter as proof, in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that such security is then and will remain in effect.
(3) The owner of any vehicle which fails to have in full force and effect the security required by Subtitle 39 of KRS Chapter 304 who has affixed to the vehicle a sticker or emblem which he knows is fraudulent or counterfeit shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall have the license plates of such vehicle suspended for a period of one (1) year or until such time thereafter as proof, in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that such security is then and will remain in effect. (Emphasis added).
The rule in this Commonwealth is that words of a statute are to be given their usual, ordinary and everyday meaning.
Gateway Construction Company v. Wallbaum, Ky. 356 S.W.2d 247 (1961). Where a statute is unambiguous, it should be given effect according to its literal language.
Barrett v. Stephany, Ky. 510 S.W.2d 524 (1974);
Hilliard v. United States, 310 F.2d 631 (6th Cir. 1962).
Applying these rules to the above-quoted statute, it is apparent that any person who is convicted for a violation of the mandatory liability insurance statute will have his license plates suspended for a determinate term followed by an indeterminate term. The determinate term is for thirty (30) days, ninety (90) days, or one (1) year and the indeterminate term is until such time after the end of the determinate term that proof is shown that the motor vehicle owner has obtained the required security or minimum tort liability insurance in the amounts specified by KRS 304-39.110(1). These amounts are ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for bodily injury for one person for one accident; twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for all bodily injury for one accident; and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for all property damage for one accident. The statute is very specific that the license plates shall be suspended for each respective determinate term and thereafter for an indefinite period of time until the statutory requirements are met. The statute places the duty on the Commissioner of Insurance to determine if the vehicle owner has satisfied the due proof requirement in order for the suspension to be lifted. The practical effect will be that the license plates must be suspended for the determinate period set forth in the statute or until such time as the vehicle owner obtains the required security whichever is longer.
The application of this interpretation to the penalty section is as follows:
1. KRS 304.99-060(1). Any vehicle owner who is convicted for failure to have in effect the required security and display the rerequired sticker shall be fined $50-$500 and shall also have his license plates suspended for at least thirty (30) days and for an indefinite period of time thereafter until he obtains the required liability insurance coverage.
2. KRS 304.99-060(2). Any vehicle owner who knows he does not have the required security in effect but places the sticker on his vehicle in spite of such knowledge shall be fined $50-$500 and shall also have his license plates suspended for at least ninety (90) days and for an indefinite period of time thereafter until he obtains the required liability insurance coverage.
3. KRS 304.99-060(3). Any vehicle owner who does not have the required security in effect but places a sticker on his vehicle which he knows is fraudulent or counterfeit shall be fined $500-$1,000 and shall also have his license plates suspended for at least one (1) year and for an indefinite period of time thereafter until he obtains the required liability insurance coverage.