Chairman Pickett Asks Attorney General To Clarify Vehicle Registration Authority

By Ender Reed, Legislative Liaison

The Texas Department of Vehicles has claimed that it has the authority to contract with a private vendor to process online vehicle registration renewal applications. State law places the authority to print and mail vehicle registration insignia and the ability to contract for these services squarely in the hands of the county, through the county tax assessor-collector.

As a result, Rep. Joe Pickett, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, submitted a request for opinion (RQ-0119-KP) to the Attorney General on July 22 in order to clarify the scope of the DMV’s authority in this area.

It appears as though no statutory authority has been granted to DMV to contract out for these services. On the other hand, the Legislature gives clear authority to tax assessor-collectors to perform these services and to contract with a private vendor for the performance of these services. This issue impacts multiple groups:

The Public: Due to the centralization of the online registration renewal process with a single vendor, it may be harder for the public to address problems that arise with their online vehicle registration renewals. For example, if there is a problem with a payment or a registration sticker that is lost in the mail, the public can currently call their local tax office and seek immediate assistance. Under the new centralized system, the public will have to speak to a customer service agent that may be in another state, or another country, in order to have their concerns addressed.

Tax Assessor-Collectors: County assessor-collectors, who are charged by state law with providing vehicle registration services for the citizens, have less ability to address problems when citizens bring them to their attention because the private vendor has no incentive or obligation to respond to tax assessor-collectors under DMV’s contract.

Commissioners Court: Commissioners court is the only entity authorized to enter into a contract for a county; however, the DMV is binding counties to a contract with a private vendor to provide county services without the permission of commissioners court.

Other county offices: This issue impacts all county officials because all county offices interact with state agencies. When a state agency oversteps its statutory authority, there must be a check in place in order to protect county offices from state agency overreach.

See this Texas Tribune article, “Lawmaker Asks Ken Paxton to Step In on Car Registration Spat,” for more information.