Revision: Feb. 5, 2009, midnight
SB 99-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/04
SENATE BILL 99-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT authorizing licensed new and used vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles in the issuance of vehicle titles and registrations.
SPONSORS: Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Gatsas, Dist 16; Sen. Downing, Dist 22; Rep. Packard, Rock 3; Rep. Nedeau, Belk 3; Rep. M. O'Brien, Hills 26; Rep. G. Katsakiores, Rock 5
COMMITTEE: Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection
This bill authorizes licensed new and used vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles in the issuance of vehicle titles and registrations.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0720
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT authorizing licensed new and used vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles in the issuance of vehicle titles and registrations.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Registration by New and Used Vehicle Dealers. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 74-g the following new subdivision:
Registration by New and Used Vehicle Dealers
261:74-h Dealers Appointed as Agents. Subject to the direction and approval of the commissioner, the director may appoint a retail vehicle dealer meeting the requirements of RSA 261:103 as an agent to process motor vehicle registration transfers and title applications for new and used vehicles sold by the dealer and motor vehicle registration renewals. The director shall determine the optimum number of dealer agents that the division can reasonably accommodate. The appointment of any dealer for the purposes of this subdivision shall continue only as long as the ownership of the dealer remains the same, except as provided in RSA 261:74-i and RSA 261:74-m. In case of a transfer of ownership, the new owner may apply to become an agent.
261:74-i Qualifications and Training of Dealer Agents. No dealer shall be appointed as an agent unless the dealer principal and his or her staff meet the qualifications and successfully complete the training program established under RSA 261:74-n. No agent may perform the duties required under this subdivision unless the dealer principal and his or her staff continue to meet the qualification and training requirements.
261:74-j Duties of Dealer Agents. Each dealer registration agent and his or her staff shall perform all the duties necessary to transfer motor vehicle registrations and process title applications and registration renewals, unless the director determines otherwise. Dealers shall be responsible to the division for any inventory of title applications, registration forms, and validation decals issued to them and for all monies collected.
261:74-k Additional Fees Charged by Dealer Agents. Each dealer agent may charge a fee of not more than $24 in addition to the fees otherwise required to renew or transfer a motor vehicle registration, of which $2.50 shall be remitted to the town or city clerk of the municipality in which the dealer is located, along with the municipal permit fee if the town or city clerk or other local official in that municipality is an agent for the registration, renewal, or transfer of motor vehicle registrations. The $2.50 fee shall be either for the use of the municipality of the town or city clerk or other authorized official who is on salary to the municipality, or by the town or city clerk or authorized official if he or she is not on salary to the municipality but is paid on a fee basis.
261:74-l Examination of Dealer Agent Records. Any dealer appointed as an agent pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed to have given its consent for authorized agents of the department and any auditor employed or commissioned by the state of New Hampshire to examine, during usual business hours, the records required to be preserved under this chapter; provided that no such agent shall be subjected to unnecessary examinations or investigations.
261:74-m Revocation of Agency Status.
I. If the director determines that a dealer agent has not continued to fulfill the requirements of this subdivision or has violated any of the rules adopted pursuant to this subdivision, the director shall commence a process to revoke the agent status of the dealer.
II. Any dealer agent whose appointment is sought to be revoked shall be afforded the opportunity of a hearing before the bureau of hearings prior to such revocation. Following the hearing the director may revoke the appointment as a dealer registration agent upon satisfactory evidence of malfeasance, misfeasance, theft, financial instability, or violation of the rules adopted under this subdivision and that the revocation is in the best interest of the state.
III. Upon the revocation of such agency, the dealer agent shall surrender to the department or its authorized agent all materials issued by the state under the provision of this subdivision and all records pertaining to all matters authorized by this subdivision.
IV. Whenever an authorized auditor of the state of New Hampshire or the department determines that the public interest requires immediate action, the commissioner may issue a temporary order suspending the authority of a dealer registration agent to renew or transfer registrations, pending a hearing.
261:74-n Rulemaking. The director shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to:
I. Minimum standards for the qualification of dealer registration agents and their staffs.
II. Training requirements and programs for dealer registration agents and their staffs.
III. The collection, deposit, and remittance of state and local funds pursuant to this subdivision.
IV. The completion of required reports and records and their submission to the department.
V. Minimum standards of accuracy, legibility, and timeliness of submission for documents and reports.
VI. The indemnification of the state in case of loss.
VII. The efficient and economical administration of this subdivision.
261:74-o Agreements with Vendors. Upon approval of the attorney general and governor and council, the department may enter into an agreement with a third party vendor to provide, at no cost to the state, the necessary hardware, software, and network connections between dealer agents and the department for the transmittal and receipt of registration and title data. Such vendor may be authorized in the agreement to collect and transfer funds electronically from the dealers to the department and to municipalities. Such agreement shall provide for minimum standards established by the department and the department of information technology for transfers of data and funds, financial solvency of the vendor, bonding to indemnify the state and municipalities in the event of loss, security and privacy of motor vehicle records, access by state-appointed auditors to the records and reports of the vendor, minimum standards for the accuracy and timeliness of submission of data and funds, conditions for cancellation of the agreement, and the other requirements related to the efficient and economical administration of this subdivision.
2 Certification. The commissioner of the department of safety and the commissioner of the department of information technology shall jointly certify to the director of the office of legislative services that their departments are able to implement the provisions of RSA 261:74-h through RSA 261:74-o, as inserted by section 1 of this act. Section 1 of this act shall take effect on the date that the director of the office of legislative services receives the certification.
3 Effective Date.
I. Section 1 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 2 of this act.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
LBAO
09-0720
02/05/09
SB 99-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT authorizing licensed new and used vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles in the issuance of vehicle titles and registrations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety and Department of Information Technology state this bill will increase state restricted expenditures and local revenues by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state and county revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill authorizes new and used vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles in the issuance of vehicle titles and registrations. The Department states the proposed legislation will increase state highway fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter assuming the commissioners of the Department of Safety and Department of Information Technology certify to the director of the Office of Legislative Services that their Departments are able to implement the provisions of the bill. The Department anticipates additional full-time positions and associated workspace, furniture, and equipment may be necessary to implement this bill.
The Department of Information Technology (DoIT) states this bill authorizes the Department of Safety to contract with a vendor to provide the necessary hardware, software, and network connections between dealer agents and the Department of Safety for the transmittal and receipt of registration and title data, at no cost to the state. The DoIT states if the Department of Safety does not contract with a vendor for data services, and the DoIT provides these services on behalf of the Department of Safety, highway fund expenditures will increase by $2,588,789 in FY 2011, $3,466,818 in FY 2012, and $4,678,243 in FY 2013.
The DoIT states bandwidth is currently at maximum capacity on incoming communication lines, therefore new communication lines and associated hardware and software must be purchased. Also, the software application currently used by municipal agents will not be transferable to dealer agents, and the DoIT estimates application development will increase Highway fund expenditures by $322,840 in FY 2011 (4,612 hours x $70/hour contractor cost). The Department anticipates dealers will be authorized and provided access to the application using the same process changes as municipal agents (MAs) adding no new costs and assumes dealers will pay for their own hardware setup at approximately $1,500 per work station. For the purposes of the fiscal note, the DoIT based estimates on 200 new dealers per year, up to a total of 600 new users.
All change requests will come through the MA Help Desk. If the request becomes a technical issue, the MA help desk will contact the DoIT Help Desk. However, the MA Help Desk is only open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Dealerships will require seven day per week support from both Help Desk and application groups. The DoIT states two full-time DoIT Help Desk support staff will be required, in addition to two full-time programming staff and two DoIT operations support staff.
The DoIT estimates highway fund expenditures will increase as follows:
|
FY 2011 |
FY 2012 |
FY 2013 |
Head-End Routing Hardware/Software |
$80,000 |
$80,000 |
$80,000 |
Head-End Lease ($15,000/month/line) |
$180,000 |
$360,000 |
$540,000 |
Site Line And Router Software ($3,440 installation/user) |
$688,000 |
$688,000 |
$688,000 |
Replacement Routers (20%/year, after 2nd year) |
$0 |
$120,000 |
$240,000 |
New User Monthly Line Costs ($370/month/line) |
$888,000 |
$1,776,000 |
$2,664,000 |
Application Development |
$322,840 |
$0 |
$0 |
Total For Six DoIT Positions |
$429,949 |
$442,818 |
$466,243 |
Estimated Increase In Highway Fund Expenditures |
$2,588,789 |
$3,466,818 |
$4,678,243 |
Costs associated with six additional DoIT positions:
FY 2011 |
FY 2012 |
FY 2013 | |
Two Help Desk Position Salaries (LG 21) |
$75,699 |
$78,780 |
$82,173 |
Two Programming Position Salaries (LG 26) |
$93,444 |
$97,539 |
$101,829 |
Two Operations Support Salaries (LG 27) |
$97,539 |
$101,829 |
$106,275 |
Benefits |
$140,617 |
$151,020 |
$162,316 |
Current Expenses |
$6,000 |
$6,000 |
$6,000 |
Equipment (one-time) |
$9,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
Office Space |
$750 |
$750 |
$750 |
Training |
$6,900 |
$6,900 |
$6,900 |
Total |
$429,949 |
$442,818 |
$466,243 |
The DoIT states to the extent dealers charge a fee for registration, local revenues of the municipality in which the dealer is located will increase by $2.50 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter, remitted by the dealer to the town or city clerk. In addition, this bill calls for the municipal agent fee to be paid to the town or city clerk of the dealer’s municipality, if that municipality is an agent for registration, renewal, or transfer of motor vehicle registrations. The DoIT states because municipal agent fees will be paid to the municipality of the dealership rather than that of the buyer, some local revenues may increase and other local revenues may decrease in FY 2011 and each year thereafter.
This bill does not contain an appropriation or establish positions.