AB296 would allow DMV installment payments, authorize digital license plates and make mileage pilot permanent

Assemblymember Howard Watts presented Assembly Bill 296, saying the bill "essentially does 3 different things": allow the Nevada DMV to contract with third parties for installment payment plans for vehicle registration fees; authorize the DMV to offer digital license plates; and remove the sunset on a mileage-gathering pilot program and make it permanent.

Watts said the DMV had a fiscal note on the original bill but that a reprint and amendment had removed that impact: "With the reprint, the DMV has indicated that they are now neutral on the bill, or that their fiscal note has been removed." Sean Seber of the Nevada DMV confirmed: "We are neutral on this bill...the latest amendment removes the impact of our fiscal notes. So it is now a 0." Committee members asked about possible future costs tied to the DMV's long-term transformation; Seber said the changes could be incorporated as the agency's system modernization proceeds.

Support testimony came from the Nevada Contractors Association, the Nevada Franchise Auto Dealers Association, the Associated General Contractors (in support of retaining odometer/mileage data for highway funding analyses), and other industry stakeholders. No callers opposed; the hearing closed with no vote taken.