BMV “reform” bill actually offers little of what is truly needed

STATEHOUSE – State Rep. Dan Forestal (D-Indianapolis) today issued the following statement after the Indiana House Republican supermajority passed House Bill 1393, described by its advocates as a measure to help reform the state’s troubled Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV):

“If this is to be the first step in fixing what’s wrong at the BMV, the people of Indiana should settle in for a long haul, because this ‘reform’ effort is a bust.

“The mistakes and abuses and general incompetence of this agency’s leadership has been well-documented. You cannot admit to overcharging motorists more than $100 million, then try to convince the taxpayers of Indiana that only minor mishaps have occurred.

“Yes, this legislation does include language requiring an audit, but you cannot convince people such a move is legitimate unless you have reviews from both inside and outside state government. I attempted to provide such safeguards, but those ideas were rejected.

“What’s just as disconcerting is that this legislation does not do anything to provide some kind of check and balance over this agency’s unchecked power to enact fees, apparently with little or no oversight.

“Just one example of this is a ‘convenience fee’ that private vendors have been able to charge customers for close to a decade. This fee enables these third parties to generate some revenue from performing the function that they have contracted to do for the state. Chances are good that most people who go to a car dealer to handle some license branch duties aren’t even aware that they pay this fee.

“By most accounts, the BMV has the ability to levy somewhere in the vicinity of 1,200 fees on motorists. To date, we have seen no accurate accounting of all of these fees, and until we do, I cannot see why we should be allowing this agency to do anything until it gets its act together. The downside of that is that we are apparently doomed to announcement after announcement of things that have gone wrong, and that motorists have been overcharged more money.

“I cannot praise the people who work at the license branches of this state highly enough. They are men and women who go above and beyond the call of duty to serve the public. It is not easy to deal with a constant stream of folks who are often in a bad mood, but BMV employees do their work with a humor and a competence that should serve as a model for others.

“What a shame that those in charge of the BMV are not competent and cannot be trusted. The problems at the BMV are real, and they won’t be fixed by House Bill 1393.”