Tax & Rev eyed to handle vehicle registration, driver’s license

A bill seeking to transfer the handling of registering vehicles and issuing operator’s licenses recently passed the House of Representatives and now awaits similar passage by the Senate.

House Bill 14-182, authored by Rep. Janet U. Maratita, aims to create an office under the Department of Finance’s Division of Revenue and Taxation solely for registration and issuing of licenses.

In its review report, the committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, chaired by Rep. Jesus SN. Lizama, said that the transfer “will be in the best interest of the public.”

“The transfer of vehicle registration to [DOF] will keep the vehicle registrant’s information in one department,” the report said. “For the first time, it will consolidate the vehicle registrations, operators’ licenses and payments under one agency’s jurisdictions.

The committee also indicated that the move will result in a “one-stop shop” for the public during registration or renewal process, which would minimize inconvenience and increase productivity and services to the public.

The functions are currently handled at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles under the Department of Public Safety.

If signed into law, DOF would not need to send staff to BMV to handle payments, the report indicated. DOF would handle all matters affecting vehicle registration and operator’s licenses. This will mean employing the necessary staff, including a principal executive, to carry out the functions.

The office may also assist BMV in investigating title and registration of vehicles.

Further, the report explained that the transfer would enable DPS to reassign officers to other department functions.

“The implementation of this act will also allow the [DPS] to re-deploy all police officers assigned to [BMV] to other essential police functions,” it said. “The reassignment of these officers will enhance public service protection by the [DPS].”

If signed into law, DPS has 90 days to transfer all items used for registration of vehicles and operator’s license as well as working capital, cash, accounts payable and receivable, deposits, books, records, and documents relating to the functions.

Also, all DPS personnel used for the operation of vehicle registration and issuance of operator’s licenses would be transferred to the Office of Vehicle and Driver Registration.