Schram, 061915 NEAGO, AGO-15-9

Case DateJune 19, 2015
CourtNebraska
Tim Schram, Vice-Chairman
AGO-15-9
No. 15-009
Nebraska Attorney General Opinions
State of Nebraska office of the Attorney General
Jun 19 2015
         SUBJECT: Authority of tine Nebraska Public Service Commission to Establish Minimum Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Requirements for Contract Carriers Under L.B. 629, § 24, Which Exceed the Maximum Amounts Established in Neb. Rev. Stat. §44-6408(2) (2010).          REQUESTED BY: Tim Schram, Vice-Chairman Nebraska Public Service Commission          WRITTEN BY: Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, L. Jay Bartel, Assistant Attorney General          INTRODUCTION          The Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Act provides that insurers are not required to provide uninsured and undersinsured motorist ["UM/UIM"] coverage at "limits higher than one hundred thousand dollars per person and three hundred thousand dollars per accident." Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-6408(2) (2010). In Op. Att'y Gen. No. 15-003 (March 4, 2015), we concluded that the Nebraska Public Service Commission ["Commission"] did not have authority to require contract carriers to carry UM/UIM coverage. We reasoned that, as the Commission's jurisdiction to regulate contract carriers is established solely by statute, and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 75-307 (2009) provided only that the Commission could adopt regulations to require reasonable amounts to cover liability for negligent operation, maintenance, or use of motor vehicles by motor carriers, the Commission was not permitted to impose any requirement that contract carriers provide UM/UIM coverage, as it does not involve insurance providing benefits as a result of negligence of the regulated carrier: We did, however, recognize that the Commission, in exercising its constitutional authority to regulate common carriers, could require common carriers to obtain UM/UIM coverage, but only in amounts not exceeding the maximums established in § 44-6408(2). We concluded that the specific provisions of § 44-6408(2) controlled over any general authority possessed by the Commission to require UM/UIM coverage for common carriers, and that the Commission was thus limited in requiring such coverage by the maximum coverage amounts in § 44-6408(2).          Subsequent to issuance of our opinion, the Legislature enacted 2015 Neb. Laws L.B. 629. The primary focus of L.B. 629 is the establishment of a mechanism to regulate the operation of Transportation Network Companies. L.B. 629, §§ 2-22...

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