COMMERCIAL LOOK-UP FEES SUNSET DELAY H.B. 4445 (H-1) & 4446 (H-1):
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4445 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
House Bill 4446 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Al Pscholka
House Committee: Appropriations
Senate Committee: Appropriations
CONTENT
House Bill 4445 (H-1) would amend Public Act 222 of 1972, which provides for official personal identification cards, to extend until October 1, 2019, the deposit of commercial look-up fees for those cards into the Transportation Administration Collection Fund (TACF). House Bill 4446 (H-1) would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to extend until October 1, 2019, the deposit into the TACF of commercial look-up fees for driver records, amateur radio operator registration plate service fees, and bulk motor vehicle records.
The bills would take effect on October 1, 2015.
House Bill 4445 (H-1)
Public Act 222 of 1972 allows the Secretary of State to maintain a commercial look-up service for records maintained under the Act. For each individual record looked up, the Secretary of State must charge a fee set by the Legislature or, if none is set, a market-based price. The current look-up fee charged by the Department of State is $8 per requested record plus $1 if requested at a branch office. The information provided under a requested look-up is the information submitted on a person's application for a personal identification card. The fees collected must be deposited in the TACF but that requirement is currently set to expire on October 1, 2015. The bill would extend the requirement until October 1, 2019.
House Bill 4446 (H-1)
The Michigan Vehicle Code provides for the collection of commercial look-up fees on driver records ($8 per transaction plus $1 per transaction if requested at a branch office), service fees charged for registration plates for amateur radio operators ($2 per transaction), and fees for bulk motor vehicle records ($16 per 1,000 partial records). All of these fees must be credited to the TACF. The commercial look-up on driver records provides the driving record for individual drivers. Amateur radio operators may apply for a registration plate inscribed with the official amateur radio call letters of the applicant assigned by the Federal Communications Commission. Finally, bulk motor vehicle records are those driver records purchased in bulk. The Department of State may contract for the sale of lists of driver and motor vehicle records in bulk and charge a market-based price for these records. The requirement that the fees be credited to the TACF is currently set to expire on October 1, 2015. The bill would delay the sunset until October 1, 2019.
MCL 257.208b et al (H.B. 4446)
FISCAL IMPACT
The current sunset date of October 1, 2015, for the deposit of the fees described in the bills in the TACF will have a negative fiscal impact on the Department of State's annual operating revenue, if the sunset occurs. The collection of these fees for the TACF totaled $38.5 million in FY 2013-14, according to the Department of State. If the sunset date is not delayed, the Department will lose approximately $38.5 million in revenue beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.