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Committee advances S.326 after fiscal review of towing reimbursement increase
Summary
The committee moved S.326 favorably after Legislative Council and fiscal staff said section 15 would raise DMV towing reimbursement from $125 to $250, increasing DMV expenses by an estimated ~$32,000 a year; sponsors said DMV can absorb the change.
David Leonard of the Office of Legislative Council described S.326 to the Senate Appropriations Committee and said the bill has little direct appropriation impact overall but that section 15 would increase the state’s reimbursement to towing companies for removing abandoned vehicles from public property from $125 to $250.
Leonard and joint fiscal staff answered senators’ questions about the fiscal effect. Joint fiscal staff noted roughly 256 vehicles were towed in a recent fiscal year; at the doubled reimbursement rate the department’s expenses would increase by about $32,000 per year if towing volumes remain similar.
The bill also contains several non-appropriation provisions discussed for committee context: free non-driver IDs/licenses for certain detainees (sections 1–5), authority to suspend registration for unpaid fees, higher penalties for unauthorized entry in Smuggler’s Notch, a $40 fee for a one-year non-domiciled commercial driver’s license, allowances for registering K vehicles that meet import rules and a new limited-use specialty-vehicle registration category (up to 12 vehicles a year at $26 each) for restored/custom vehicles.
Committee members noted that DMV could absorb the modest increase within existing budgets; the committee moved S.326 favorably and the clerk recorded the committee report (audible roll call followed).
