OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
SB-183
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
AMENDMENT
LCO No.: 4849
File Copy No.: 310
Senate Calendar No.: 199
Primary Analyst: EMG 4/30/24
Contributing Analyst(s): (FN)
Reviewer: MM
OFA Fiscal Note
See Fiscal Note Details
The amendment strikes the underlying bill and its associated fiscal
impact.
Sections 1-3 establish a process for registration and titling companies
to receive an electronic issuance license from the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV). These sections establish a $250 application and renewal
fee, a $100 renewal late fee, and a fee of up to $2,000 for non-compliance,
resulting in a revenue gain from fees.
Additionally, applicants must submit to fingerprint-based state
criminal history records checks, resulting in a revenue gain to the
General Fund
1
and a potential revenue gain to the Applicant Fingerprint
Card Submission account in the Department of Emergency Services and
Public Protection (DESPP) and municipal police departments beginning
in FY 25.
2
It is unknown how many persons will apply for this license.
1
DESPP conducts state criminal history records checks for a fee of $75, and the revenue
that is collected from this fee is deposited into the General Fund.
2
DESPP conducts fingerprinting for a fee of $15 fee per person paid to the non-lapsing
Applicant Fingerprint Card Submission Account. Funds in this account are used for IT
support and maintenance for the fingerprinting systems. Municipal police
departments may also conduct required fingerprinting and generally charge a fee of
$10 to $15. 2024SB-00183-R00LCO04849-FNA.DOCX Page 2 of 4
Section 4 imposes a $100 late fee on transporter registrations and is
expected to result in Special Transportation Fund (STF) revenue gain of
less than $10,000 annually from fees.
Section 6 requires motor vehicle recyclers to furnish a surety bond
and imposes a $200 administrative fee for non-compliance, resulting in
potential STF revenue gain from fees.
Section 8, which expands existing class B misdemeanors pertaining
to drivers' schools, results in a potential cost to the Judicial Department
and a potential revenue gain to the General Fund from fines. On
average, the marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than
$800 each year.
3
Since 2014, there has been no revenue collected for this
violation. Few, if any, violations are expected in the future.
Sections 33-36 authorize the operation of "low-speed vehicles" (LSV)
on public roads, defines them as "motor vehicles" for purposes of motor
vehicle laws, and creates an infraction for improper use. This results in
potential revenue gain to the Special Transportation Fund from LSV
registration fees, though it is unknown how many will be registered. It
also results in potential revenue gain to the General Fund to the extent
that infractions occur. Infractions are not crimes and are punishable by
fines that usually range from $100 to $300.
Section 37 expands an existing class D misdemeanor
4
for wrecker
requirements to forbid towing to occur while a person occupies the
vehicle being towed. This results in a potential cost to the Judicial
Department and a potential revenue gain from fines. On average, the
marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than $800
5
each
3
Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only
includes costs that increase with each additional participant. This does not include a
cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense is
anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation
officers.
4
In FY 23, there were 19 charges for similar offenses, and $1,188 was collected in fines.
5
Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only
includes costs that increase with each additional participant. This does not include a
cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense is 2024SB-00183-R00LCO04849-FNA.DOCX Page 3 of 4
year.
Section 38 requires the DMV to review existing policies and
procedures on operating and inspecting school buses and to provide
and post this guidance. This section does not result in a fiscal impact to
the state because it can be accomplished within DMV's current
operations.
Section 40 results in a potential minimal savings annually beginning
in FY 26 to local and regional school districts that contract with school
bus companies which purchase buses with three-point lap and shoulder
seat belts. The section reestablishes a grant program that refunds school
bus companies for 50% of the sales tax on such school buses they
purchase. The section does not require school districts to purchase
school buses with seat belts, which districts are allowed to do under
current law. To the extent that the section reduces the cost to districts of
contracting with private school bus companies, there would be a
minimal savings. There were no grants awarded from FY 11 to FY 17,
when the program was previously in effect Grants awarded under the
program are funded by the School Bus Seat Belt account, a non-lapsing
General Fund account that was first established in FY 11. See
Background for more information.
The section requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, in
collaboration with the Department of Education, to inform schools
districts annually about the program. This has no fiscal impact as it can
be done within current operations.
Background PA 10-83, the act which established the school bus seat
belt pilot program, also established the School Bus Seat Belt account as
a separate non-lapsing General Fund account. Funding for this account
is provided by a portion of the fee for restoring a suspended or revoked
license ($50 of the $175 fee). Though the pilot program previously sunset
on December 31, 2017, the School Bus Seat Belt account and its funding
anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation
officers. 2024SB-00183-R00LCO04849-FNA.DOCX Page 4 of 4
source remain active.
From its inception in FY 11 through FY 23, the account realized
cumulative revenue of $23.7 million, transfers-out of $18.5 million
6
, and
no spending related to the school bus seat belt pilot program. As of the
beginning of FY 24, the account had a balance of $5.3 million and is
projected to realize approximately $1.2 million in revenue annually
from license restoration fees.
Section 41 provides a weight tolerance exemption for electric
commercial vehicles and does not have a fiscal impact.
Section 42 changes the thresholds by which pick-up trucks must be
registered as either combination or passenger and does not have a fiscal
impact because the fees are the same under either registration.
Sections 43-45 prohibit contingent fees related to accessible placard
certifications and imposes a $1,000 penalty for violations, resulting in a
potential revenue gain from fines.
The remaining sections are technical, make conforming changes, or
otherwise do not result in a fiscal impact to the state or municipality.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of electronic issuance
license applications and renewals, violations, infractions, LSV
registrations and violations for improper use, the number of grants
awarded from the School Bus Seat Belt account, or as otherwise
described above.
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely
for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General
Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of
informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is
consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any
specific department.
6
The most recent transfer-out was in FY 19 as part of the FY 18 and FY 19 biennial
budget.