
INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Beginning January 1, 2012, a portable electronics transaction vendor must obtain a license from the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration in order for an employee to be authorized to sell or offer ortable electronics insurance at each location at which the vendor engages in a transaction.
HB 523 is another example of our government going the wrong way. Among other things, this bill would require the vendor of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, to be registered and licensed by the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. Most cell phones are sold by young people who are working at a kiosk in the mall or at a small cell phone store; they are not in the insurance business. I do not think that requiring small businesses to pay thousands of dollars in fees and taxes every year just so the state can say that they are registered and authorized to sell an insurance plan with an ipod is entirely necessary or even appropriate for that matter
The idea here is to require a cell phone vendor, or other portable electronics vendor, to be licensed with the state before they can sell you an insurance policy on your ipod or Blackberry. This is unnecessary unless the government just feels as though they don't have enough control over small business already. This bill would force small electronics vendors to somehow recover the annual cost of this new tax and licensing and registration fees. This is a cost that will most likely be passed on to consumers.
This convinces me even more of what President Reagan said about the governments’ perspective on role they have in our economy and our lives:
”If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”