HB5178 requires car dealerships to use a search engine to verify that vehicle buyers have valid motor-vehicle insurance.
The West Virginia State Senate passed HB5178 on March 1, 2024 by a vote of 33 to 1. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this is a significant overreach of government authority. By requiring car dealerships to use a government-designated search engine to verify a buyer’s insurance status, the bill forces private businesses to act as enforcement arms of the state. Additionally, the mandate that individuals must carry motor-vehicle insurance in order to purchase a car infringes on personal freedom and imposes a one-size-fits-all requirement that disregards individual circumstances. Additionally, this legislation sets a troubling precedent for state-mandated surveillance in private transactions and further erodes free-market principles in favor of government control.
