Florida's chief financial officer has written the governor andlegislative leaders urging them to enact a transition measure ifthey plan to let the state's no-fault auto insurance law expire intwo weeks.

Without some legislation to bridge the changeover, the statewill be left with a law that “will protect cars, but not people,”wrote CFO Alex Sink.

Her message delivered yesterday said that a special legislativesession set for Oct. 3, two days after the no-fault law is due tosunset, “gives us the opportunity to fix two significantproblems.”

Without the personal injury protection insurance provided byno-fault, Ms. Sink wrote, “Floridians injured in an automobileaccident through no fault of their own may have to pay for theirown medical treatment or face the prospects of taking legal action(and a prolonged resolution) to cover their medical bills.”

As it now stands, when no-fault expires, motorists registering avehicle will only be required to prove they have property liabilityinsurance, and according to Ms. Sink, the Department of HighwaySafety and Motor Vehicles will not be able to require drivers tokeep that insurance in force once they have their registration.

Ms. Sink said the first priority should be to reform the currentno-fault law, “but if we must return to a tort-based system, I urgeyou to add legislation to the call of the upcoming special sessionto require mandatory medical benefits insurance and restoreenforcement powers to the DHSMV and our law enforcementofficials…”

In terms of no-fault law reforms, Ms. Sink said she supports, ata minimum, increasing anti-fraud enforcement efforts andinstituting cost controls–such as an injury fee schedule andtreatment utilization limits.