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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 15625O8-05-03P01~56 RCVD ORDINANCE NO. /~(l/ ~~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1986), AS AMENDED, BY THE AlVII;NDMENT OF CHAPTER 34, "VEHICLES FOR HIRE" SECTION 34-147 "INSURANCE" IS Al'VIENDED TO PROVIDE ADDITION INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AND LIlVHTS OF COVERAGE; PROVH)ING THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS CI;iMUI.ATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A FINE OF UP TO $200 FOR EACH OFFENSE IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, is amended by the amendment of Chapter 34, "Vehicles for Hire," Article IV, "Taxicabs," Section 34-147, "Insurance," is amended to provide additional insurance requirements and limits of coverage. Such section shall read as follows: "Sec. 34-147. Insurance. (a) As a condition to the issuance of a grant of privilege and the continued operatinn hereunder, a grant holder shall maintain in force during the authorized period of its operating authority the amount and character of insurance coverage for taxicabs as established by the city council from time to time. The operating authority will .not be granted, renewed or continued unless the applicant or holder fizrnishes the city with a copy of the policy together with all endorsements. (b) The minimum insurance required under this section must: (1) Be obtained from a carrier that is admitted and licensed to transact insurance in the State of Texas, (2) The policy shall be written on an occurrence basis. (3) Cover any and all vehicles and drivers in the holder's fleet, and all drivers of such vehicles; (4) Be acceptable to the risk management division of finance; (5) Name the City of Fort Worth as an additional insured; (6) Provide minimum coverage in an amount no less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) combined single limit liability (CSL) per occurrence; 1 (7) All claims will be paid on first dollars basis by the insurance provider; (8) Insurance shall not be obtained from an assigned risk pool; (9) The insurance coverage shall not contain policy exclusions that would change or limit coverage for passengers entering or exiting the vehicle; (10) All vehicles pernutted to operate under the grant of privilege must be listed as a scheduled vehicle covered by the policy. (c) All taxicab liability insurance coverage must include a rider that provides that at all levels of coverage, there must be notification to the city in writing not less than thirty (30) days before canceling or making a material change in the policy. (d) The grant of privilege holder shall not have ,operational control in any insurance company providing coverage to the vehicles operated under the grant of privilege. (e) The city council, in its discretion, may from time to time require insurance coverage of a different kind or a greater amount, and upon such city council action, the grant of privilege holder shall be required to modify its insurance coverage to comply with these requirements, and shall furnish to the ground transportation office an insurance binder as evidence that it has acquired such type and amounts of insurance within ten (10) days of the change. The holder shall provide a copy of the policy and with all endorsements within forty-five (45) days of demand from the ground transportation coordinator." SEC'TI®N 2. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, .Texas (1986), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SEC'I'I®lil 3. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same 2 would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 4. Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 5. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the ordinances amended in Section 1, which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance and, as to such accrued .violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinancebut may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption and Section 4 of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 2, Chapter XXV of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas and by Section 52.013, Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 7. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on September 1, 2003. 3 APPRO~D AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: AS~ISTAN~' CITY ATTORNEY DATE: `~ Iaa-~ n3 ADAPTED: ~ ~ ~-a--~ ~.~ EFFECTIVE: v ~ ~ l City of ' ~'o~'t Wo~'tlz, ~'exas DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 7/22/03 G-14037 38TAXI 1 of 2 SUBJECT ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 34, "VEHICLES FOR HIRE", ARTICLE IV, "TAXICABS" SECTION 34-147 "INSURANCE" OF THE CITY CODE RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 34, "Vehicles for Hire", Article IV, "Taxicabs", Section 34-147 "Insurance" of the City Code to be effective September 1, 2003. DISCUSSION: There are three taxicab companies that are authorized to operate in Fort Worth. Two of the taxicab companies have insurance coverage with the Insurance Corporation of New York. The rating for Insurance Corporation of New York has dropped from an A (Superior) to NR-3 (Not Rated). The third company, whose insurance coverage with Insurance Corporation of New York .expired, has obtained coverage with a company that is not rated. Under City ordinance, an authorized taxicab company must have coverage with an insurance carrier that is rated A or higher. Due to the insurance market, the taxicab companies indicate they have been unable to obtain insurance coverage in compliance with the City ordinance. Therefore, staff has researched the requirements in other cities and the insurance market to determine available insurance coverage. On April 22, 2003 and May 15, 2003, the Public Safety Committee received staff recommendations to amend the insurance coverage for taxicabs required by City ordinance. Staff recommends the following revisions: • Reduce coverage limit from $1,000,000 to $500,000 on a combined single limit; and • Coverage shall be obtained from an admitted and licensed carrier; and • Delete rating requirement; and • Prohibit policy exclusions that would change or limit coverage for passengers; and • Insurance shall not be obtained from an assigned risk pool; and • Prohibit taxi permit holders from having operational control in any insurance company providing coverage; and • All vehicles permitted to operate must be listed as a scheduled vehicle covered by policy; and • Remove the requirement for a deductible. Based upon information obtained regarding the market conditions in the insurance industry,-the Risk Management Division of the Finance Department recommends the above ordinance revisions. The attached ordinance shall take effect on September 1, 2003. City of Fort ~Vortlz, Texas M'Ayar and Cauncil CammunicAt~an DATE 7/22/03 REFERENCE NUMBER G-14037 LOG NAME 38TAXI PAGE 2 of 2 SUBJECT ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 34, "VEHICLES FOR HIRE", ARTICLE IV, "TAXICABS" SECTION 34-147 "INSURANCE" OF THE CITY CODE FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION: The Finance Director. certifies that this action will have no material effect on City funds. LW: k Submitted for City Manager's FUND ACCOUNT CENTER AMOUNT CITY SECRETARY Office by: (to) Libby Watson 6183 Originating Department Head: Elsa Paniagua 6711 (from) APPROVED 07/22/03 ORD.# 15625 Additional Information Contact: Elsa Paniagua 6711