Subcommittee tables DMV modernization bill after privacy concerns
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Summary
Senate Bill 135, which would let Virginia DMV query national motor-vehicle title databases to speed title clearing, was tabled 6–3 after members raised privacy and notice concerns despite tow-industry support and DMV technical assurances.
A Virginia legislative subcommittee on the Department of Motor Vehicles on an unspecified date tabled Senate Bill 135 after members expressed privacy and notice concerns.
The bill’s sponsor presented SB135 as a modernization measure to let the DMV enter agreements with nationally recognized motor-vehicle title databases to share and receive owner and lienholder information between state DMVs. The sponsor and DMV representatives said the databases, as described to them, transmit data only between state DMVs and are not shared with federal agencies, but acknowledged that the bill itself does not contain an explicit statutory prohibition against federal access.
Delegate Bagans asked directly whether the bill prevented sharing with federal partners; DMV said their understanding from the database operators and DMV counsel is that the companies only sign agreements with DMVs and do not share beyond those agreements but labeled that determination a takeaway rather than a statutory guarantee. Delegate Benita Anthony and other members pressed the panel on notice rights and opt-out options; DMV staff said routine contractor sharing does not automatically notify vehicle owners but individuals have a statutory right to request disclosure and to obtain a list of entities that have accessed their data. DMV also described audits and contractual security requirements for vendors.
Tow-industry representatives urged the committee to pass SB135, saying slow or nonresponsive out-of-state jurisdictions impose heavy costs and land burdens on towers. Thelma Drake of the Virginia Association of Towing and Recovery Operators said other states “just did not respond” when DMV tried to confirm ownership; an industry witness described one tow business holding about 900 vehicles in inventory.
Delegate Fagan moved to table SB135, citing the privacy risks of expanding authority to share DMV data with or through private entities without additional statutory safeguards. The motion to table passed on a roll call vote of 6 to 3.
Because the subcommittee tabled the bill, no implementation steps or timelines were adopted.