Committee reviews DMV emergency rule to update forms after statutory fee increases

The Rules Committee examined an emergency rule from the Department of Safety that would update DMV forms to reflect statutory fee increases that went into effect Jan. 1, 2026, after the legislature adopted changes in chapter 141 of the 2025 law. John Marasco, director of the DMV, told the committee the department submitted updated forms to the Office of Legislative Services and was told the changes were substantive and therefore required rulemaking rather than an editorial update.

Marasco said the forms affected are widely used — driver license applications, duplicate driver's license and title forms, and record request forms — and that the department has high transaction volume (it processed roughly 425,000 customer transactions in lobbies last year and handled about 400,000 titles). "We chose to use emergency rulemaking to quickly update the statutory fee changes on these forms and eliminate any confusion for our customers," Marasco said. He added the department has been in discussions with municipal agents and uses a municipal‑agent help desk to notify towns and clerks of fee changes.

Committee members raised two concerns: whether the emergency filing included the specific statutory citations and appendix required by rule, and whether the agency had articulated the imminent‑harm justification that emergency rules require. One member said the appendix attached to the rule cited the omnibus budget bill (HB 2) rather than the specific RSA sections and asked the department to provide more specificity so the public can find the authority in statute. Another senator related a constituent experience in which a duplicate‑title application was completed with the old fee and then returned, underscoring the customer‑confusion problem.

Marasco said the department submitted the form changes to OLS in December 2025 and that OLS later found they were not merely editorial. He told the committee the department had hired a staff member to review forms and had significantly reduced prior errors, and that emergency rulemaking was requested to avoid extended use of incorrect forms. "We're committed to following the rulemaking process since full rulemaking would allow forms with incorrect fees to remain in use for an extended period of time," he said.

Committee members urged agencies to use the interim or abbreviated processes the committee has been developing when they know a fee change is coming, so forms can be updated ahead of an effective date. The committee did not take a formal vote on the emergency DMV filing at this meeting; members requested clearer statutory citations and the required appendix language and discussed using an abbreviated timeline when appropriate.

The committee left the record open for follow‑up materials from the department and said it would coordinate with DMV and OLS on next steps.