HB 626-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
08/10
HOUSE BILL 626-FN
AN ACT relative to a division of motor vehicles office location in Milford.
SPONSORS: Rep. Daniels, Hills 6
This bill requires the department of safety to maintain a division of motor vehicles driver licensing and registration office in the town of Milford and making a portion of the building available to the Milford District Court.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0657
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to a division of motor vehicles office location in Milford.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles; Milford Location. The department of safety shall maintain an office of the division of motor vehicles in the town of Milford at 4 Meadowbrook Drive for the licensing of drivers and the registration of motor vehicles, and shall make a portion of that building available for the Milford District Court with maintenance and operating costs to be borne by the judiciary for that portion used.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
11-0657
Revised 02/087/11
HB 626 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to a division of motor vehicles office location in Milford.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state highway fund expenditures by $196,061 in FY 2012, $157,309 in FY 2013, $164,801 in FY 2014, and $173,102 in FY 2015. The Department of Administrative Services and the Judicial Branch state this bill will increase state expenditures by $212,925 in FY 2012 and $2,129,250 in FY 2013 and decrease state general fund expenditures by $33,000 in FY 2014 and $33,660 in FY 2015. There is no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenue or county or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill requires the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to maintain a driver licensing and registration office in the town of Milford, and to make a portion of that building available for the Milford District Court, sharing certain operating costs with the Judicial Branch. The Department is currently in the process of implementing a plan that calls for the opening of an office in the City of Nashua and closing the offices it maintains in both Merrimack and Milford. The Department assumes that no additional revenues would be generated by keeping the Milford office open. By maintaining licensing and registration offices in both Milford and Nashua, any revenue generated in one will reduce the revenue generated in the other. As the building is currently designed, the DMV utilizes approximately 30% of the square footage available in the building, although the Department states renovations would be necessary to make the site suitable for the purposes set in this bill. Construction of additional restrooms, a break room and a wall between the DMV section and the district court section would need to occur, as well as the purchase and installation of a new HVAC system. The Department also estimates the need to hire additional staff and purchase additional office equipment and supplies, as the employees, equipment, and supplies currently at the Milford substation were to be moved to Nashua with the opening of the new substation there. The Department’s cost estimates do not include the cost of three additional automatic driver testing stations. The contract with the supplier stipulated a fixed amount of stations which are now in use throughout the state. Any additional testing stations would require an amendment to the existing contract and the Department cannot accurately estimate their cost at this time. For additional staff, the Department estimates one full time cash terminal operator I (LG 11), one full time cash terminal operator II (LG 13), and 40% of the costs for a licensing officer (LG 14) to offer road tests in Milford on Thursdays and Fridays. The Department’s cost estimates are below and include an assumption that they would be responsible for 30% of the heat, electricity and plowing costs:
FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015
Salaries $65,321 $67,864 $70,401 $73,229
Benefits $50,637 $55,005 $59,816 $65,141
Office/Facility Maintenance & Supplies $34,225 $34,440 $34,584 $34,732
Office/IT Equipment $18,378
Heating System Upgrade $17,500
Building Modifications $10,000
Total Department of Safety Costs $196,061 $157,309 $164,801 $173,102
The Department of Administrative Services, Bureau of Court Facilities states the existing facility, as modified as described above, would only be sufficient for district court office space. To adequately host the Milford District Court, the Department assumes the site’s existing garage will be demolished and a new courthouse addition will be constructed in its place, with 2 courtrooms, a lobby, 4 conference rooms, a cellblock with 2 cells, and 2 public restrooms. The Department assumes this addition along with 80 parking spaces to be shared by the court and DMV will fit within the current 2-acre site and that the Department of Safety will maintain ownership of the facility with a lease agreement in place for the courthouse sections. The Department states existing court accreditation commission standards for design and safety will be followed, and states its cost estimate for the addition does not include any funding for any potential hazardous waste cleanup due to automobile wrecks formerly stored at the site. To complete the renovations of the office space in the existing structure, the Department estimates capital costs of $34,500 for design, and $345,000 construction. For completion of the addition, the Department estimates capital costs of $178,425 for design, and $1,784,250 for construction. The Department assumes design of the projects would occur in FY 2012, for a total cost of $212,925 ($34,500 + $178,425) and construction would occur in FY 2013, for a total cost of $2,129,250 ($345,000 + $1,784,250). The Department estimates operation of the courthouse would begin in FY 2014 with its share of the facility operating costs, in the form of lease payments to the Department of Safety, being $64,000 in FY 2014, and $65,280 in FY 2015. The Department also estimates it would have paid $97,000 in FY 2014, and $98,940 in FY 2015 for lease, utility, and cleaning costs at the existing Milford District Court site, for a net decrease in state general fund expenditures of $33,000 ($97,000 - $64,000) in FY 2014 and $33,660 ($98,940 - $65,280) in FY 2015.
The Judicial Branch states court facilities issues are handled by the Bureau of Court Facilities within the Department of Administrative Services, and as such that Bureau would be best equipped to address this bill. Facilities related expenses within the Branch’s budget are located in a single class line within its budget, to be transferred to the Bureau of Court Facilities.