Legislature weighs several DMV hikes to gain revenue

Friday, April 4, 2003 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- New drivers may soon have to pay for the handbooks that teach them Nevada traffic law, as the state seeks additional money to ease its budget woes.

Newcomers to the state may also pay more when they get a driver's license and register a vehicle.

At a meeting of the Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee today, there were suggestions that fees might be charged on such things as driver's handbooks and dealer's reports of sale, which are now free.

That could raise about $2.5 million a year.

By law the department is entitled to receive 22 percent of the highway fund taxes, with the rest going to build roads. But the agency wants to increase it to 29 percent, which would mean an additional $24 million out of the highway construction fund.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said the Legislature "can't short our road-building money," but at the same time the motor vehicle department needs more money to take care of the demands of a growing population.

Coffin is looking at a proposal that would raise the initial registration fee for a motor vehicle and for a driver's license. "Newcomers pay for this. Let the person who comes here pay the bill," he said.

If the state doubled the fee for new driver's licenses from $19.50 to $39, that would raise slightly less than $4 million for the next two years "without sticking the existing residents," Coffin said.

If the state doubled the first annual registration fee from $33 to $66, that would generate about $40 million for the biennium. It would hit those registering their car for the first time and those buying a new car.

Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, said there must be reductions in the proposed budgets also in addition to any fee increase.

The subcommittee is already looking at boosting the fees for driver's licenses, commercial driver's licenses and registration of motor vehicles.

Raising the fee by $1 for a driver's license and vehicle registration would yield nearly $6 million over the two years. Boosting the fee by $5 would generate $29.5 million.

Also there is a proposal to increase the record search fees from $5 to $6, which would yield an additional $1.2 million.

Gov. Kenny Guinn did not recommend any fee increases and instead decided to take more of the highway fund to meet the needs of the motor vehicle department.

But Ginny Lewis, director of the department, told the subcommittee today the Guinn administration "is prepared" to look at any fee increase. "The door is not closed on fee increases," she said.

Lewis did endorse a suggestion by staff of the budget subcommittee to shift some funds in the department. The agency now collects $7.5 million a year for the sale of records to such companies as insurance firms. It keeps about $1.5 million but transfer the rest to the highway fund.