MINUTES OF THE meeting
of the
ASSEMBLY Committee on Transportation
Seventy-Second Session
April 15, 2003
The Committee on Transportationwas called to order at 1:45 p.m., on Tuesday, April 15, 2003. Vice Chairwoman Genie Ohrenschall presided in Room 3143 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Guest List. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Note: These minutes are compiled in the modified verbatim style. Bracketed material indicates language used to clarify and further describe testimony. Actions of the Committee are presented in the traditional legislative style.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Ms. Genie Ohrenschall, Vice Chairwoman
Mr. John C. Carpenter
Mr. Kelvin Atkinson
Mr. Jerry D. Claborn
Mr. Pete Goicoechea
Mr. Don Gustavson
Mr. Rod Sherer
Mr. Ron Knecht
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Mrs. Vonne Chowning, Chairwoman (excused)
Mr. Mark Manendo (excused)
Mr. Tom Collins (excused)
Mr. Pete Goicoechea (excused)
Mr. John Oceguera (excused)
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
None
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Marji Paslov Thomas, Committee Policy Analyst
Nancy Elder, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ginny Lewis, Director, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles
Clay Thomas, Administrator of Field Operations, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Our chairwoman and other committee members are testifying in other committees; please mark them excused. The Assembly Committee on Transportation, it is the time set for the meeting to come to order. [Roll taken.] We have a quorum. We will open with S.B. 213. Will the presenting parties please approach the witness area?
Senate Bill 213: Authorizes Department of Motor Vehicles to establish pilot program pursuant to which period of registration for certain motor vehicles is expanded. (BDR S-484)
Ginny Lewis, Director Department of Motor Vehicles:
[Introduces herself] Good afternoon, Madam Vice Chairwoman and members of the Committee. Senate Bill 213 is a department bill, which represents approval to establish a pilot program to allow for an optional two-year registration renewal project. This proposal represents our ongoing responsibility to pursue alternatives for customers when transacting business with the DMV.
With the continued growth challenging our delivery services, DMV has been proactive to find ways to offer services to our customers other than a visit to the DMV. We believe this concept of an optional two-year registration would certainly be appealing to some customers, while realizing that not all customers would have the resources to pay for their registration in advance for two years. If the department establishes a pilot program for an option of a two-year registration, we will conduct a study of the pilot program, and submit a report of the results of the study for transmittal to the seventy-fourth legislative session. I am available to answer any questions.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Members of the Committee, are there any questions of the witness? I have a couple of questions. The bill seems to say that you are contemplating setting up pilot programs in various counties. How is that going to work out? Are you going to go “first come, first served,” or will you have some standards that will prioritize County A over County B?
Ginny Lewis:
The concept that the department has is that when we say a pilot program, we would offer it to anyone in the state who is interested. We are not planning to limit this to any particular county. I think the concept is doing the pilot and see what kind of response we get from the public. When we first had this idea, it was before we really had the Internet in place. So there is a way today to not have to deal with the DMV every year as far as your registration. I don’t know if the public will grab on to this, but I think it is our responsibility to continue to find any alternative that might help us with some of the challenges in our field offices.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Do I understand that you have basically set up a skeletal structure in every county? Do you just wait and see how many people will come forward to take advantage of it?
Ginny Lewis:
That would be correct.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Can you also explain on page 1, line 8, of the bill, “the weight in excess of 26,000 pounds,” is that supposed to refer to a particular type of a vehicle or not?
Ginny Lewis:
This pilot program does not address any particular kind of commercial vehicle.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Is that what you are exempting?
Ginny Lewis:
That is correct.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
How will this bill interface, if at all, with A.B. 324, which came out of this Committee?
Ginny Lewis:
That is a very good question. Assembly Bill 324 came out of this Committee with an amendment. Mr. Thomas, who is here with me today, can address that amendment.
Clay Thomas, Administrator of Field Operations, DMV:
[Introduces himself] Assembly Bill 324, in its original content, included a six-year driver’s license renewal period. That differed from this bill you are hearing today, because this bill is restricted only to registration. I testified before this Committee on A.B. 324 that there was a potential loss of $18 million if we went to a six-year driver’s license renewal. The Committee passed it out of this Committee with only the two-year registration intact, so this bill would then mirror that.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
So basically then it would just be a matter of which one passes both houses first? Would you, as a department, be equally satisfied with either bill?
Clay Thomas:
The department bill is a pilot program, which would give us the authority to evaluate it in the future and determine its value, and therefore if it was not advantageous and did not work, we could go ahead and rescind it.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Could you please clear up for the Committee how the effective dates work on various parts of the bill, and how the sunset will work? I understand by looking at it that there are different dates for different parts of the bill. I just want to make sure the chronology is clear.
Ginny Lewis:
The effective date upon passage is for us to adopt the regulations. The sunset is June 30, 2007.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Since you are exempting commercial vehicles by weight, are you also exempting taxicabs?
Ginny Lewis:
If you were to go by the way the current legislation is written, we would not exempt taxicabs.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Is it your desire that they be exempt?
Ginny Lewis:
I don’t see a reason to not allow them to pilot in this program. I think it is for any company that has fleets, if it is something they want to consider, that there isn’t any reason that we could not.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
You are not concerned that you are going to have a flurry of people rushing in to the point it would overwhelm you in the beginning?
Ginny Lewis:
The entire pilot program will be automated, so this will not impact our staff. We don’t anticipate anything like that.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Do you already have your automation set up?
Ginny Lewis:
We have not made any changes to our computer system. I do not want to be premature and start making changes on computer application until this bill passes. We have discussed it with our IT [information technology] staff, so they are well aware, and they have thought through how they are going to do this.
Assemblyman Gustavson:
I just glanced at A.B. 324 and noticed that it is not a pilot program, and your bill [S.B. 213] is a pilot program. Is that the only difference?
Ginny Lewis:
That is correct. That is the only difference.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Is there any fiscal effect? According to the bill, there does not seem to be, but how are you going to finance the pilot program?
Ginny Lewis:
There is no fiscal impact to the department. As far as the revenues that are collected at the time of a two-year registration, our intent is to collect those monies upfront, and we will distribute them as we normally do. The distribution to the highway fund would be for all of those monies, the same as with the counties and the schools. We would not withhold those monies.
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
Are there any other questions of either of these witnesses from anyone on the Committee? Is there anyone in the audience who wishes to testify in favor or against S.B. 213? [There was not.]
Vice Chairwoman Ohrenschall:
I will close the hearing on S.B. 213 and refer it back to the Committee on a work session. Seeing no further business, I declare this meeting adjourned. [1:57 p.m.]
Erin Channell
Transcribing Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Assemblywoman Genie Ohrenschall, Vice Chairwoman
DATE: