State court administrator tells Senate Transportation that unregistered vehicle citations have rebounded to pre‑COVID levels; committee requests more breakdowns

Terry Purcell, State Court Administrator, told the Senate Transportation committee on Jan. 13 that Judicial Bureau records show a COVID‑era decline in some traffic citations but a rebound for unregistered‑vehicle violations, with the most recent year’s counts near pre‑COVID levels. "There's been an increase since COVID," Purcell said while reviewing 10‑year slide charts produced from Judicial Bureau data.

The presentation covered two broad areas: unregistered vehicle violations and speeding citations. Purcell said total speeding citations are roughly half the counts from 10 years ago after a COVID dip and subsequent leveling, but several higher‑speed categories — including the 21–30 mph and 31+ mph bands — have recovered toward or reached pre‑COVID numbers. "For the 31 or more, it's pretty level even during COVID," Purcell said, and the slides show the 31+ mph category at about 210 citations per year.

Committee members pressed for clarity on what the charts represent. One member asked whether the numbers reflect tickets written or convictions; Joanne Shargano, manager of the dealership bureau, clarified that the slides use Judicial Bureau filings. "That's the number of tickets that were filed with the judicial bureau," Shargano said, adding that officer agreements to delay filing would not appear in that dataset.

Members also asked about the fiscal implications of fewer citations. Shargano provided an average fine figure of about $162 for many speeding citations and said staff can produce revenue totals and a more detailed breakdown. The presenter acknowledged they did not bring an audited revenue report and offered to supply revenue figures and related fines-and‑fees data on request.

The committee sought additional disaggregations. Members asked whether the data distinguish state police, municipal police and sheriff's office tickets; Purcell and Shargano said the slides separate 'state' and 'local' issuances and that any officer can issue citations, though revenue shares vary. Purcell pointed to the "basic rule," cited on the slides as "23 VSA 10 81," which allows charging a driver for operating at a speed that is not "reasonable and prudent under the conditions" even when a posted limit exists.

Several committee members requested more granular reporting: counts by county or by barracks, breakdowns for work‑zone and school‑zone citations, and counts for other violation codes (tinted windows, license‑plate visibility, valid‑inspection and no‑insurance citations). Shargano said she would check whether county‑level extraction is possible and would look up the code values for the additional violation types; Purcell offered to return with the requested material or submit it to the committee.

The presenter said some questions — such as estimating the proportion of unregistered vehicles that are stopped or cited versus those not observed by enforcement — would require further study or law‑enforcement input. The committee also noted that changes in travel patterns (for example, remote work) could influence citation counts and vehicle miles traveled.

Staff committed to follow up with the requested county and zone breakdowns, revenue estimates, and the additional violation counts; committee staff also said they had asked the Department of Motor Vehicles for inspection and registration counts to supplement the Judicial Bureau data. The presentation ended with an agreement to provide the supplemental data for the committee’s review.