MINUTES OF THE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Sixty-eighth Session March 9, 1995 The Assembly Committee on Transportation toured the Department of Motor Vehicles at 555 Wright Way, Carson City Nevada, on Thursday, March 9, 1995 at 1:30 p.m. Exhibit A is the Agenda. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Mrs. Vonne Chowning, Chairman Mr. David Goldwater, Vice Chairman Mr. John C. Carpenter Mrs. Marcia de Braga Mr. Dennis Nolan Ms. Genie Ohrenschall Ms. Patricia A. Tripple COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXCUSED: Mr. Thomas Batten, Chairman Mr. Bernie Anderson Mr. Dennis Allard STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Mouritsen, Research Analyst Jackie Valley, Committee Secretary Mr. Bruce Glover, Chief of the Drivers License Division, greeted the Committee members and presented a brief overview of each department. He advised that DMV is in the process of being remodeled. The purpose of the remodeling is to have all Motor Vehicle personnel on one floor. Mr. Glover stated they are in the process of cross training all DMV personnel throughout the state. Assemblyman Chowning asked if the DMV and Public Safety become two separate Departments, would they still be housed together. Mr. Gosnell, Chief of Administrative Services, answered no. He further added that CIP has funds for renovation. He stated their goal was to put customer service on one wing. Mr. Glover explained the License Review Section processes suspended licenses, withdrawals, SR22's, and handles all accident reports. He further explained the department deals with very hostile clients as well as obscene phone calls. A high volume of phone calls, approximately 100 per day, are handled by the License Review Section. The Document Section is responsible for data entry functions of the department and manages all documents for drivers' licensing throughout the state. This department also handles all convictions, traffic safety schools and index micro filming. Mr. Glover pointed out that an optical character recognition (OCR) machine had been recently purchased and prior to the purchase the department was 8 months behind in document filming. The OCR is used to film documents pertaining to drivers' licenses such as SR22's, SR26's, citations, and withdrawal actions. Mr. Glover stated the department has requested an additional OCR machine in their budget. Donna Wadey, acting Chief of Registration, stated there are three bureaus within the Registration Division. Ms. Wadey gave a brief overview of the Motor Carrier Bureau stating they are responsible for the issuance of commercial licenses over the counter, by phone, via the mail and through the International Registration Plan (IRP) The program deals with recaps and monies that are received from other states in regards to the (IRP) and the international fuel tax agreement. The function of the international fuel tax agreement is to collect taxes on fuel from various states. Mrs. Wadey explained there is one staff person performing the backlog of micro- filming in the title section. She further explained that within the Registration Division there are four main functions: 1. Titles 2. Mandatory Insurance 3. Mail Renewal 4. Counter Operations Mrs. Wadey remarked the 22 percent cap was a law that prevented DMV from exceeding more than 22 percent collected for highway funds. She pointed out that DMV transferred the 6 percent Privilege Tax Commission to the highway fund, therefore, DMV is allowed to use 22 percent of the 6 percent Privilege Tax Commission for operating purposes. (Exhibit B). The Revenue section handles delinquent tax accounts of bankruptcies and collects fuel taxes for the audit section. Joyce Fogliani, Manager of Records, explained that the Records section is part of Administration and is authorized to maintain an information reporting service for driver's license and vehicle registration/title records. These records are released to advertising companies, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, and individuals who are large users meeting certain criteria. An application is completed and submitted to the Records Section. (Exhibit C). The Information Reporting Service has a base cost for services provided. (Exhibit C). Ms. Fogliani commented that if a requester is not on an account they are screened thoroughly and are billed on a monthly basis. Mrs. Chowning asked if salvage companies have access to this information. Ms. Fogliani responded yes and stated a fax machine is used for requests from salvage and tow companies. Mr. Dennis Debacco, Program Manager, explained that fingerprint criminal history records are entered into a data base in addition to criminal charges. The criminal history also does a background check. Federal offenses are not included in Nevada criminal histories. The Western ID network is a system that interfaces with other states and is a successful automation. Mr. Debacco further stated that a new firearm program was in effect as of February 1994. This program enables firearm dealers to prevent sales to a person(s) with a criminal history. There are 21,000 firearms dealers in the state of Nevada. A monthly report was submitted as part of the record. (Exhibit D). The Assembly Committee on Transportations tour ended at 3:40 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Jackie Valley, Committee Secretary APPROVED BY: Assemblyman Thomas Batten, Chairman Assemblyman Vonne Chowning, Chairman Assembly Committee on Transportation March 9, 1995 Page