King

In this case we are called upon to determine whether, as plaintiffs allege, the 1984 Robbins-McAlister Financial Responsibility Act (Stats. 1984, ch. 1322), when considered in relation to the relevant provisions of the Insurance Code pertaining to automobile insurance, fails to provide drivers with adequate procedural due process of law. For the reasons set forth below we hold that plaintiffs’ concerns are legally without merit, and are more properly addressed to the Legislature than to the courts.

I. Legislative Framework

California first enacted a financial responsibility law in 1929, which, like those that followed, required all drivers to be “financially responsible” (usually by means of insurance) for any injury they caused while driving. However, enforcement of the requirement was triggered only when the driver was at fault in an accident causing either bodily injury, or property damage in excess of $100 (later amended to $200). Even then, there was no sanction for failing to have insurance if the driver was able to post a bond in an amount determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to be sufficient to meet the likely liability. Failure to either post a…

I reluctantly concur in the judgment sustaining the trial court’s ruling denying a preliminary injunction to restrain enforcement of the 1984 legislation (Veh. Code, §§ 16028-16035) providing that a driver cited for a moving violation must provide proof that he has automobile liability insurance. When we granted review, we saw this case as raising two *1236 significant constitutional issues: (1) whether the state, having effectively made automobile liability insurance compulsory, had a duty to assure that such insurance was available to all its drivers at reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates 1 ; and (2) if so, whether the state’s statutory and administrative scheme fulfilled that duty. But a funny thing happened on the way to this forum. The state did not dispute its duty to assure that insurance was available to all on a fair and reasonable basis. 2 Instead, it maintained that the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) fulfilled that obligation. And plaintiffs, on their part, made no attempt to show that insurance was not available under CAARP on a fair and reasonable basis, and in response to our questions disclaimed any notion that affordability was something to be…

In this case we are called upon to determine whether, as plaintiffs allege, the 1984 Robbins-McAlister Financial Responsibility Act (Stats. 1984, ch. 1322), when considered in relation to the relevant provisions of the Insurance Code pertaining to automobile insurance, fails to provide drivers with adequate procedural due process of law. For the reasons set forth below we hold that plaintiffs' concerns are legally without merit, and are more properly addressed to the Legislature than to the courts.

California first enacted a financial responsibility law in 1929, which, like those that followed, required all drivers to be "financially responsible" (usually by means of insurance) for any injury they caused while driving. However, enforcement of the requirement was triggered only when the driver was at fault in an accident causing either bodily injury, or property damage in excess of $100 (later amended to $200). Even then, there was no sanction for failing to have insurance if the driver was able to post a bond in an amount determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to be sufficient to meet the likely liability. Failure to either post a bond or…