DMV urges monthly updates to tolling data after constituent accumulated $30,000 in erroneous fines

The Revenue Policy Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony from the Department of Motor Vehicles on a proposed amendment to House Bill 5071 that would require tolling entities to refresh vehicle‑registration data on a monthly basis.

Hannah Warner of the DMV told the subcommittee that tolling entities rely on DMV records to send bills and that outdated records “directly result in erroneous toll notices, wrongful fines, and financial penalties.” Warner said regular monthly updates would improve accuracy and public confidence.

Warner described a case handled through the governor’s office in which a constituent accumulated more than $30,000 in toll fines tied to a plate no longer registered to her. “It was going to collections. It was very stressful for her,” Warner said, using the example to underscore the agency’s view that monthly refreshes are a practical safeguard.

Warner acknowledged that daily updates would be ideal in theory but said monthly synchronization is more realistic for operational and administrative reasons. She said monthly updates would catch most mismatches and reduce the DMV’s auxiliary workload responding to erroneous fines.

The subcommittee did not vote on the amendment during the session; the chair said members had submitted several amendments and would return to consider them after taking testimony.

Next steps: the committee will post the next meeting online and is expected to review and consider the proposed amendment language before any vote.