Revision: Jan. 29, 2019, 5:16 p.m.
SB 305-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0975
11/08
SENATE BILL 305-FN
AN ACT relative to voter registrations accepted by other state agencies.
SPONSORS: Sen. Gray, Dist 6
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows the division of motor vehicles to accept voter registration forms as part of the drivers' license issuance or renewal process.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0975
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT relative to voter registrations accepted by other state agencies.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Elections; Voters and Checklists; General Voter Registration; Registration by Other State Agencies. Amend RSA 654 by inserting after section 15 the following new section:
654:15-a Voter Registrations Accepted by Other State Agencies. Any person who is domiciled in any town or city in this state and qualified to vote therein at the next election to be held in such city or town, but whose name does not currently appear on the voter checklist to be used at the election, may cause his or her name to be added to the checklist by registering at the division of motor vehicles during the application for an initial or renewal Real ID drivers' license. The secretary of state shall specify the registration form, which shall be consistent with the registration form described in RSA 654:7, to be used for registrations in accordance with this section.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
19-0975
1/28/19
SB 305-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to voter registrations accepted by other state agencies.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| |||||||
| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||||||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | ||||
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||||
Expenditures | Potential Increase of $1,200,000+ | Potential Increase of $600,000+ | Potential Increase of $620,000 | Potential Increase of $640,000+ | ||||
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Restricted Cost of Collections* | |||||||
*Pursuant to Part II, article 6-a of the New Hampshire constitution, any costs associated with the collection and administration of Highway Funds by the Department of Safety shall be deducted by the Department before such funds are credited to the Highway Fund as unrestricted revenue.
LOCAL: | ||||||||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||||
Expenditures | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | ||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill allows individuals to register to vote at the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as part of the application process for an initial or renewal Real ID drivers' license using a form specified by the Secretary of State.
The Department of Safety states DMV would require development of an interface with Secretary of State's Office to verify that an individual is not already registered to vote. Reprogramming of the existing driver license system would be needed to capture and transmit information and electronic signatures. These transactions involve real time checklist verification and response to voter registration questions, which the Department anticipates will be time-consuming. In order to minimize wait times, the Department would need additional full-time staff in its 6 busiest locations, including 6 counter clerks and one program assistant to coordinate the program. Staff would require additional and ongoing training to answer basic voter registration, residency, and domicile related questions. It is anticipated this training would take place outside of normal business hours and would total 10 hours per employee in the first year and 5 hours for each year thereafter. Maintenance and support of information technology would be coordinated through the Department of Information Technology. Estimated costs for DMV only are outlined below:
Estimated Transmittal Expenditures | ||||
Type of Expenditure | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Additional Staffing (6 FTE) | $ 342,000 | $ 354,000 | $ 372,000 | $ 390,000 |
Additional Staffing (1 FTE) | $ 56,000 | $ 58,000 | $ 61,000 | $ 64,000 |
Training of Staff | $ 22,500 | $ 11,250 | $ 11,250 | $ 11,250 |
IT Resources to Maintain Interface | $ 150,000 | $ 150,000 | $ 150,000 | $ 150,000 |
Reprogramming Existing System and Development Interface |
$ 600,000 |
$ - |
$ - |
$ - |
Printed Material | $ 25,000 | $ 25,000 | $ 25,000 | $ 25,000 |
Total | $ 1,195,500 | $ 598,250 | $ 619,250 | $ 640,250 |
The DMV is funded with cost of collection and administration revenue associated with the collection of highway funds pursuant to RSA 9:9-a and the New Hampshire Constitution (Part II, Art 6-a). The bill does not specify how voter registration expenditures incurred by the Division of Motor Vehicles will be funded, but the Department states funding from highway funds may be in conflict with state law and the New Hampshire constitution.
The Department of State assumes this bill would require DMV to electronically send voter registration information to the centralized voter database known as ElectioNet, and from there, the information would be distributed to the local supervisors of voter checklists for processing. The Department estimates any costs associated with this bill would include information technology infrastructure expenditures which may increase costs by an indeterminable amount.
Local government expenditures will be impacted by an indeterminable amount depending on any costs associated with receiving additional information electronically or increasing processing efforts.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Safety and Department of State