Penalties for Violations of 9 CMC §§ 8203 and 8204. (a) Civil Fines. (1) Notwithstanding any other laws or provisions to the contrary, any person who violates 9 CMC § 8204 by failing to produce proof of insurance, shall pay a civil fine of not more than $200.00 for the first violation, and not less than $500.00 for any subsequent violations. (2) Notwithstanding any other laws or provisions to the contrary, any person who violates 9 CMC § 8203 by failing to maintain the legally required insurance coverage, shall pay a civil fine of not more than $500.00 for a first violation, and not less than $1,000.00 for any subsequent violations. The Office of the Attorney General shall bring such necessary actions in the name of the Commonwealth to enforce this chapter and collect these fines, and, the Commonwealth Superior Court shall have jurisdiction over such civil actions. (b) License Revocation. In addition to any other penalties, any person who is convicted or pleads guilty to violating 9 CMC § 8203 shall have his/her drivers license immediately and automatically suspended by the bureau. The bureau shall reinstate the person's license only when the violator has paid any and all fines for violations of this chapter in full, and, if the violation occurred while operating a motor vehicle owned or registered by the violator, when satisfactory evidence of minimum motor vehicle liability insurance for that vehicle is submitted to the bureau. The bureau shall within 24 hours send written notice via postal mail or other reliable means to any person whose license is so suspended notifying the person of such suspension and informing him of what he is required to do by this section in order to have his license reinstated by the bureau. Source: PL 11-55, § 6 (§ 8111), modified; (a)(1) and (a)(2) amended by PL 19-18, § 2 (Nov. 6, 2015), modified. Commission Comment: PL 19-18 (Nov. 6, 2015) contained the following findings section in addition to severability and savings clauses: Section 1. Findings. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles recorded a total of 14,132 registered vehicles in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: 131 in the First Senatorial District, 598 in the Second Senatorial District, and 13,403 in the Third Senatorial District. Significantly, the Legislature finds that there is a growing public concern regarding motor vehicles being operated on public highways without any liability insurance coverage. This practice unfortunately often results in difficulties encountered by law abiding motor vehicle operators seeking claims. The Legislature further finds that some of these recorded registered vehicles cancel their liability insurance policy once the vehicle registration process is completed at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Department of Public Safety.
As a result, many law abiding motor vehicle operators find it hard to seek claims from near-accidents or accidents that involve motor vehicle operators who lack the mandatory liability insurance required by law. The Legislature finds that in order to further protect the public against motorists who violate the Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance law certain amendments must be made. Therefore, the intent of this Act is to amend 9 CMC Section 2107 (a) and 8210 (a) (1) and (2) by enacting higher fines to deter violators as well as encourage vehicle owners to register their vehicle on time. All other provisions shall remain the same. The Commission inserted a comma into the figure “$1000.00” pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(g).