Senate Bill 95 – Senator Ford:
Operation of license branches by contractors. Provides that if a qualified person demonstrates to the bureau of motor vehicles commission that the person can meet the statutory requirements to operate a license branch or to provide partial services, the commission shall award a contract to the qualified person to provide license branch services or partial services. Provides that a contractor that operates a license branch or provides partial services is not required to collect statutory service charges but may collect and keep any service fees the contractor considers necessary to provide the services. Requires a contractor to collect and pay to the bureau of motor vehicles a transaction fee that recovers the costs to the state, as determined by the bureau and the state board of accounts, to support license branch services. Eliminates the requirement that a contractor provide a cash bond as the fidelity bond to secure performance of the contract. Provides that the commission is not required to replace any license branch operated by the commission with a license branch operated by a contractor. Adds insurance producers to the list of entities that are “qualified persons” (Currently, “qualified persons” are motor clubs, financial institutions, new car dealers and others approved by the BMV.)
Current law leaves it up to the discretion of the BMV as to whether to give qualified persons a contract. The proposed law requires the BMV to enter into the contract. Unlike government run branches, the private branches would not be required to collect the service charges listed in IC 9-29-3. Instead, the private branch could collect as much or as little as it chose.
[tags]BMV, privatization, SB95-2007[/tags]
I don’t know if I’d call that “Privatization”, as it isn’t talking about replacing BMV branches with private ones. I like the idea that I can buy a new car and get my plates transfered at the same time. Maybe I could get them to throw in plates when haggling over price? :-)
(Actually, I STINK at things where you must haggle over price. My wife is the one that does that!)