HARTFORD -- Gov. Dan Malloy is proposing legislation he said will reduce wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The governor said it's no secret people want much shorter lines at the DMV.
In a statement, Malloy said his proposal will focus on three areas.
First, the governor wants outside contractors, like AAA, to be able to offer vehicle registration services in addition to being able to renew non-commercial licenses.
"AAA has had a great partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles since 1992," AAA spokesperson Amy Parmenter said. "We would certainly welcome the opportunity to expand services in any way that could better serve the driving public."
Malloy said of the AAA proposal, "Why not make it easier for people to transact from home or elsewhere?"
The legislation proposal will put a hold on boat registrations until the end of 2018. Malloy said the move would allow more staff to work on vehicle registrations and reduce wait times.
The third point of the proposal, which has many--including tax collectors--concerned, would allow the DMV to register vehicles that have delinquent property taxes and parking tickets. Currently, the DMV is prohibited from renewing a vehicle, snowmobile or vessel registration if the department has not received notification from any municipality of outstanding tax payments or delinquent parking tickets. T
The administration believes this will reduce return visits to the DMV to register vehicles.
The DMV released a statement on Gov. Malloy's proposals:
"The Governor has put forth commonsense proposals to reduce wait times in our offices and the DMV supports them. We know that 66 percent of all compliance issues among customers are due to delinquent taxes or small-dollar, unpaid parking tickets that customers may not even be aware of. Currently, many customers come to our offices and stand in line only to be told to go back to their municipality. This wastes our customers’ time, that of our staff, and that of other customers in line. They don’t need a run-around. If we want to reduce wait times, and if we want to respond more efficiently and quickly to the needs of our fellow residents then we must focus on our core mission and services – providing identity-related licenses, registering vehicles, maintaining driver records and promoting public safety. The Governor’s proposals will help make the customer experience for DMV services much easier and simpler while also saving customers’ time at a DMV office."
However, the Connecticut Tax Collector's Association tells FOX 61 this would hurt municipalities that rely on this system that forces taxpayers to pay up.
