Proposition 17 is a $3.5 million initiative by insurance company Mercury Insurance, coming up on the June 8th ballot, seeking to legitimize a hefty increase in insurance fees. The shocking truth is that to date, this fee has been largely illegal and was charged to customers whose insurance had lapsed due to non-payment of their insurance premium.

In a world where global warming along with a severe recession are harsh realities, an initiative like Prop. 17 does make it difficult for people to save money as well as do their bit for the environment by choosing to not have a car.

There are many people in California who can afford a car, but have chosen not to have one.  Those who live in urban areas and rely on public transportation may not want a car.  Those who responsibly sold their cars and terminated their insurance due to financial constraints.  Those who lived overseas such a military personnel.  Those who have been injured and could not drive a car for a period of time.  Finally, you have college students who may not require a car to get around.

In 1988, Proposition 103 was passed in the state of California barring insurance companies from raising premiums on insurance coverage because the customer did not possess insurance coverage previously. Prop. 17 will negate this. According to activists, this is really a device for the insurance companies to increase their bottom lines.

It would be interesting to note that in the past, two similar initiatives by Mercury Insurance failed. Interestingly, the company has conducted its own research and come to the conclusion that Californians will be forced to drop their coverage as a result of the severe recession and will not be able to afford to buy insurance as a result of the proposed price hikes.