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Subcommittee approves bill to expand online DMV services and criminalize appointment scalping
Summary
HB 961, intended to modernize interactions between tax collectors and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, was reported favorably 17-0 after the sponsor adopted a committee substitute that largely accepted the Senate version and added a misdemeanor penalty for scalping appointment times.
The Government Operations Subcommittee reported favorably, 17-0, on House Bill 961, a measure the sponsor described as modernizing customer service for motor-vehicle transactions while adding a criminal penalty for the resale of appointment times.
Judge (or representative) Mahaney, presenting HB 961 on behalf of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said the bill would allow customers to request titles and registrations online and either pick up a hard copy or receive it by mail. The committee substitute adopted during the hearing pared back provisions that drew opposition in earlier drafts and largely mirrors the Senate version, the presenter said.
A new provision added in committee addresses a recent problem in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere where third parties have registered appointments on DMV or tax-collector online systems and then resold them to consumers. The sponsor said the amendment would make the resale of appointment times illegal and classify it as a first-degree misdemeanor so that Floridians would not have to pay private scalpers to access state services.
The amendment and the committee substitute were adopted without recorded opposition. Timothy Qualls of the Florida Tax Collectors waived in support. Representative Meany waived closing on the amendment; Representative Mahaney waived closing on the bill. The clerk called the roll and the committee recorded 17 yes votes and 0 no votes; the chair announced that HB 961 "has passed favorably with the committee substitute."
The bill’s text as adopted in committee emphasizes expanded online customer-service options, a multi-year handicap placard renewal for permanently disabled individuals, and the newly added misdemeanor for appointment scalping. Specific implementation details, enforcement mechanisms for the scalping prohibition, and any fiscal impacts were not presented in detail on the committee record.
