California Highway Patrolmen Join In Support For Controversial Proposition 33

The California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP), representing more than 13,000 active and retired highway patrol officers throughout the state, announced their endorsement of Proposition 33 on September 4.

In California, car insurance companies can offer a discount to drivers who have had continuous car insurance coverage, but unlike in most states, this discount belongs to the insurance companies not the driver. California has the ninth highest car insurance rates in the country. Proposition 33 would give ownership of the discount to the driver instead of the insurance company, and would allow consumers to shop their discount to an insurance carrier of their choice.

The proposal has its critics who say that the measure would raise car insurance rates on good drivers. Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog cited that one of the backers of Prop 33, a non-profit organization, acknowledged in a San Francisco Bay Guardian story published on September 5 that it received a $25,000 donation from an insurance company that is supporting the measure. The advocacy group said Prop 33 would raise car insurance rates on good drivers who have a break in insurance coverage, even if they're not driving, and implied the measure was solely profit-motivated, and the insurance company in question was engineering passage by garnering supporters through a form of kickback.

In a letter, Consumer Watchdog urged the non-profit to reverse its decision to support Proposition 33, stating said organization opposed a nearly identical ballot measure proposed by the insurance company in 2010, Prop 17.

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