Transportation Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-261
AN ACT CONCERNING RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
Title: MOTOR VEHICLES.
Vote Date: 3/3/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 1/27/2021
File No.: 89
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Rep. Ben McGorty, 122nd Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
This is the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles' annual agency update request
with many provisions carried over from the 2020 legislative session. The bill contains
various measures meant to increased efficiency & services of the agency through;
removal of obsolete provision(s), authorizations for online/digital and/or extended
business interactions (in response to the unique challenges in the Covid-19 health
pandemic), compliance with federal & state laws, and technical changes.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Commissioner Sibongile Magubane Department of Motor Vehicles (CTDMV)
Every year the Department of Motor Vehicles submits a proposal to the
Transportation Committee to ensure compliance with federal requirements, make
technical changes to statutes and streamline processes. This proposal contains
language originally submitted in the 2020 legislative package. During the pandemic the
DMV deployed new processes and technology to enable the agency to deliver critical
services to customers in a safe manner. Customer convenience continues to be the
main focus. Therefore, rolling back the changes implemented during Covid would have
a devastating impact on our ability to service Connecticut businesses and residents.
 Commissioner Katie Dyke Departnmetn of Environmental Protection (DEEP)
Sections of this bill are highly important for DEEP. This bill sets a fee for
the Save the Lakes commemorative number plates, and provides for how much
of that fee is dedicated toward DMVs cost of producing, issuing, renewing and
replacing such plates and how much of that fee is dedicated toward the
Connecticut Lakes, Rivers and Ponds Preservation account. The bill clarifies
that the term Commissioner in section 14-21aa of the general statutes is
meant to be the Commissioner of DEEP and that the DEEP Commissioner may
receive private donations to the Connecticut Lakes, Rivers and Ponds
Preservation account and may provide for the reproduction and marketing of
the Save our Lakes commemorative plate image for use on a variety of
merchandise, including clothing, recreational equipment, posters, and more.
Section 14-283 of the general statutes would be amended to clarify that
DEEP vehicles operated by DEEP personnel when responding to or during a
fire or emergency call would fall under the definition of emergency vehicle.
Helping DEEP emergency responders to get on-site as quickly as possible
provides valuable support to federal, state and local emergency responders
during emergency incidents given the potential public health and safety hazards
associated with exposure to certain environmental and radiological releases.
The General Assembly may wish to substitute emergency vehicle for
authorized emergency vehicle. In the alternative, the General Assembly may
wish to amend the definition of authorized emergency vehicle in section 14-
1(5) of the general statutes to simply provide that it is a vehicle specified in
subsection (a) of section 14-283 of the general statutes.
Marine dealers are already issuing temporary registrations upon the sale
or transfer of vessels. The revisions proposed in the bill related to section 15-
144 (e) of the general statutes would allow for marine dealers to issue
permanent registrations, making for a more efficient and streamlined process
for the boating public, obviating the need for them to visit a DMV office to
register their vessels.
Beverly K. Streit-Kefalas Probate Court Administrator
The proposed expansion set forth in Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 14-16(b) from
60 to 120 days may cause confusion as to the process to follow and distress to
family members after a death. And significantly, it may result in legal disputes
over title ownership. By expanding the transfer application process now set
forth in Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 14- 16(b) to 120 days, the Probate Court may
have already issued a decree allowing the transfer of title or have authorized a
fiduciary to sell or transfer the motor vehicle title. If a beneficiary were to then
seek a transfer of title from the commissioner at that juncture, it will give rise to
disputed ownership claims potentially between family members and cause title
uncertainty to any third-party purchaser of a motor vehicle after death of the
original owner.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Connecticut Association of Optometrists
Page 2 of 8 SB-261
 I feel strongly that a vision assessment is truly needed prior to granting a
drivers license. However, in requiring the vision assessment to be completed
by a medical professional, in lieu of the DMV, this move will have an impact on
both drivers and physicians alike. First of all, license applicants will now carry
the burden of obtaining the appropriate vision screening at a physician's office
at a cost, possibly not covered by their insurance. Secondly, if a license
applicant requests "only" a vision screening for DMV purposes, there becomes
a question of medical / professional liability on the medical professional's behalf.
For example, what would happen if a person comes in for a simple screening
(moreover, a screening is NOT equivalent to a comprehensive eye exam) and
an ocular condition is not discovered because the evaluation was limited to the
vision and visual field requirements? The DMV would have no accountability by
performing a vision screening on their premises, but an ophthalmologist or
optometrist may be at risk if only visual acuity and gross visual fields were
obtained. Perhaps I may suggest a solution. Rather than removing free vision
screenings from the DMV offerings, I would suggest allowing EITHER a free
DMV screening OR a visual assessment certification by the previously-defined
medical professionals. This gives back the benefit of choice to the constituent
and providers could perform full eye exams without concern for liability.
Brandon Dufour, Founder and CEO at The Next Street
Due to the pandemic, the DMV has temporarily allowed our classroom
sessions to be taught virtually. This has been a silver lining for our industry. The
DMV has included language in SB 261 to make Virtual Classroom Learning a
permanent solution, and I support that proposal. We are seeing an increased
number of students opting into the 30-hour classroom program because of the
convenient access to the virtual classes. We have lost no education quality in
the virtual medium and we hear only compliments and praise from our staff and
customers. We do recommend some clarity for driving schools. Id like to
suggest a few items to assure that Virtual Learning remains high quality and
focused on the local roads and driver education needs in Connecticut:
1. Classes must be taught by a live instructor that is teaching from within
the State of Connecticut. Pre-recorded lectures or online learning
modules would drastically reduce the quality of education.
2. Currently, students must take a quiz at the end of the classroom
session to assess their understanding of the material. We believe this
quiz should be law with clear and outstanding penalties for driving
schools that do not offer quizzes or do not require passing grades before
completing a student.
3. Current regulations require classroom locations to be licensed by the
DMV. Language should be clarified as to where virtual classes can be
taught from. Most of our instructors are currently broadcasting from their
homes.
4. Driving schools should be required to teach both classroom training
and practical driving lessons. There is a major correlation between the
theory taught in class and the practical skills behind the wheel. Schools
teaching only classroom sessions are a disservice to the student.
Tasha Cusson, President of the Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA).
Page 3 of 8 SB-261
 The CMTA, which represents nearly 350 member marine or boating
related businesses and their employees, urges your support of Section 32 of SB
261, The DMV has been making a number of changes to streamline their
operations in order to provide a better customer experience for Connecticuts
citizens. Passage of this provision (Sec. 32) of SB 261 will be one more
improvement that will benefit the agency and our citizens.
Alicea Charamut, Executive Director Rivers Alliance Connecticut
This was a much needed and common-sense measure as neglecting to
provide resources and addressing AIS more uniformly in all of our surface
waters will ultimately make management in lakes and ponds more challenging
not to mention leaving AIS impairments in our rivers unaddressed. Modification
I recommend a change in the name of the commemorative license plate to
Save Our Lakes and Rivers for two reasons:
1. Including rivers more accurately reflects how revenue from the
commemorative plate can and will be spent.
2. Including rivers broadens the market of those who would be potentially
interested in such a commemorative plate, therefore, increasing revenue.
RIVER STEWARD AT THE CONNECTICUT RIVER CONSERVANCY (CRC)
When aquatic invasive species (ais) are introduced to waterbodies, ais
outcompete native species and, as a result replace habitat for threatened and
sensitive speciesThese ais threaten the ecological integrity of the connecticut
river, as well as the economic viability of local businesses that depend on the
connecticut river. Sections 5 & 6 pertain to save our lakes commemorative
license plates to promote awareness of connecticuts waterbodies and direct
funding to the account established under section 14-21aa through a $60 fee
applied to the sale of commemorative plates, funds would support ais
education, planning and management. We strongly support this initiative to
generate and streamline much needed funding in order to slow the spread of
ais and manage existing infestations. As noted by rivers alliance, we support
suggestions to modify the commemorative plate name to save our lakes and
rivers to accurately represent the distributions of funds and attract a greater
number of participants to the program.
AMY BLAYMORE PATERSON, ESQ., EXECUTIVE
Sb 261 builds upon existing legislation (pa 18-101 and pa 19-190),
establishing a commemorative license plate program to provide a source of
revenue for municipalities to help address this insidious problem. Clcc supports
sections 5 and 6 which add detail and specificity with respect to the fees
charged and revenue generated by the plate. In addition, consistent with
changes made by pa 19-190, section 6 (d) of sb 261 corrects the name of the
account to include rivers. In furtherance of that correction, as noted by rivers
alliance of connecticut, clcc respectfully suggests also changing the name of
the commemorative license plate to save our lakes and rivers to more
accurately reflect the extension of the use of the funds to address invasives in
rivers throughout the state.
CONNECTICUT FEDERATION OF LAKES
Page 4 of 8 SB-261
 Protecting Connecticuts lakes, ponds, and rivers from damage done by
aquatic invasive species and cyanobacteria has never been more important.
The Connecticut federation of lakes strongly supports the clarifications and
improvements that are in sections 5 and 6 of s.b. 261. These measures will help
protect our state waters and the recreational, environmental, and aesthetic
value they provide to the citizens of Connecticut.
AAA ALLIED GROUP AND AAA NORTHEAST
AAA also supports sections 12 and 25 of s.b. 261, which allow driver
education to be taught via distance learning. During the pandemic, AAA has
virtually taught driver education to hundreds of students, to positive reviews
from parents and students, and supports making this a permanent option. It
allows students whose schedules may not permit a regularly scheduled session
to get the necessary education about safe driving in a professional, engaging
manner which is preferable to having those individuals age out of the
graduated driver licensing laws before they obtain a license.. Allowing
classroom, virtual classroom, and online learning will enhance access to driver
education for a wide variety of students, and AAA supports efforts to support all
such options.
NATIONAL SAFTEY OCUNCIL (NSC)
These changes would allow for the program to be provided in a class or
online (distance learning) and would make the course accessible in challenging
times, such as these. NSC is a participant in the orp and successfully
transitioned to online programming quickly after the pandemic hit. Participants
in the online program receive the same content as they would in the classroom
and are able to access it in a safe location convenient to them. Online courses
can be bookmarked, providing the learners with the ability to start and stop the
course. Distance learning allows the course to be taught in a consistent manner
ensuring all learners receive the same training in the same manner. Online
courses provide immediate bilingual options, closed captioning for the hearing
impaired, and are secure, ensuring identity verification at registration randomly
throughout the course.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Sal Luciano, President Connecticut AFL-CIO
While the Connecticut AFL-CIO supports the goal of reducing consumer
wait times and enhancing customer service at the DMV, we cannot support this
bill with the inclusion of lines 757-760. The most effective and cost-effective
way to improve these essential agency operations is to consult and engage with
staff who perform them. By working collaboratively with DMV employees who
serve the public directly, agency leadership can develop unique, specific
changes to improve Connecticut taxpayers experience, without saddling DMV
with expensive private consultants and the one-size-fits-all remedies. Instead,
lines 757-760 provide far too much discretion to the commissioner, opening to
the door to a variety of no-bid outsourcing schemes that constrain legislative
Page 5 of 8 SB-261
 oversight and invite potential corruption. We caution the transportation
committee from greenlighting the privatization of any state function without first
requiring the agency to comply with the requirements of the state contracting
standards board.
John DiSette President of A&R Employees Union Local 4200
The highlighted proposed language releases all transactions of the DMV
to outsourced vendors and shifts the mission of the DMV from the sole provider
of motor vehicle services to an agency detached from the millions of
transactions taking place. This is a fundamental change in what is expected
from our government. By taking this step and allowing this language change,
we would be removing the trust and faith in our government institution and
handing it over to organizations that have no vested commitment to the role of
the DMV. The careful cross-checks and processes which have been built into
the DMV over decades become reduced to a fragmented system of ad hoc
vendors. We lose the training to identifying fraudulent documentation, we lose
the training in utilizing multiple systems to validate information, in essence, the
core security over the States identification cards for individuals and vehicles is
downgraded.
Kelly McConney Moore American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut (ACLU-
CT).
Here, we do not believe that lifetime drivers license bans will reduce
recidivism, make Connecticut safer, or serve any purpose except to make the
lives of people living with a criminal record more difficult. Accordingly, we urge
you to oppose Section 17 when considering Senate Bill 261.
Stacey Zimmerman, SEIU CT State Council
Lines 757 to 760 give the commissioner far too much discretion. Not just
not this commissioner specifically but all commissioners in any Department.
Connecticut ranks 40th per capita of public employees to population, yet we still
provide tremendous and needed services to our residents. Since the John