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Subcommittee adopts amendment to add 'SAFE' designation for registrations, gives SB 585 favorable report
Summary
The committee adopted a strike-and-insert amendment to SB 585, moving a safety-designation into code section 56-3-115 and giving the bill a favorable report as amended; the DMV said it needs up to 12 months to implement the registration designation in its systems.
The Motor Vehicles and Public Safety Subcommittee approved an amendment to Senate Bill 585 and gave the bill a favorable report as amended.
Chair Tom Hartnett described Amendment 1 as a strike-and-insert that implements Senator Tedder's "SAFE Act" concept: a notation on vehicle registration (not driving records) that would alert law enforcement when an owner or occupant has certain disabilities or disorders. Hartnett said the change places the designation in section 56-3-115 of state code, where an existing notation allowed only deaf or hard-of-hearing designations.
Legislative staff and DMV representatives told the committee the measure expands the types of conditions eligible for an on-registration designation and clarifies that the person who requests the designation can later remove it. Staff said the DMV needs a 12-month window to implement the change while it completes ongoing system modernization, including e-title work.
Representative Philip Bowers asked why a full name and date of birth must be provided for the designation; DMV staff responded that existing procedures for the deaf/hard-of-hearing designation require medical documentation with similar identifying information and that the DMV maintains those records.
The committee adopted Amendment 1 on a roll call (6 ayes, 3 absent) and then voted to give SB 585 a favorable report as amended by the same margin. No committee amendment text beyond placement and the 12-month implementation window was discussed in the transcript.
Why it matters: Proponents said the registration notation will give officers advance awareness of a potential disability during traffic stops. The DMV's implementation timeline makes the change contingent on the agency's ongoing modernization work.
