House passes plan to make changes governing vehicle dealers, deputy registrars

Provisions governing deputy registrars and motor vehicle dealers in Minnesota could be streamlined under a bill passed Wednesday by the House.

HF3463, sponsored by Rep. John Petersburg (R-Waseca), would make a number of changes to regulations governing vehicle dealers and the agents that handle much of the licensing, title and registration work across the state.

Passed by a 92-31 vote, as amended, the bill now goes to the Senate. There, Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault) is the sponsor.

Changes in the bill include those that would:

• allow a vehicle dealer that holds multiple types of dealer licenses — a new motor vehicle dealer license and a used motor vehicle dealer license, for example — to hold and sell vehicles across multiple dealership locations without needing to transfer title or ownership;
• direct the Department of Public Safety to allow for vehicle dealers to use third-party software that can electronically submit title transfers and vehicle registrations to the state;
• permit deputy registrars to issue certificates of title, and direct the Public Safety Department to authorize the change by Aug. 1, 2019;
• create a Motor Vehicle Title Transfer and Registration Steering Committee to make recommendations to the department on policy and planning; and
• issue a temporary 180-day permit if the state’s troubled new vehicle and license registration system, MNLARS, prevents a transaction from being completed in a timely manner.