NC lawmakers propose to delay DMV deadlines for licenses, registrations during pandemic
North Carolina drivers and vehicle owners could get more time to renew their licenses and registrations under coronavirus relief bills filed in the House and Senate this week.
The bills would allow the Division of Motor Vehicles to add six months to the expiration date of any license, permit, registration or other credential and would waive any fees, fines or penalties for not complying with the old date. Motor vehicle tax payments would also be delayed to match the new expiration dates.
The bills differ in one key way: The House version, in House Bill 1043, would apply retroactively to licenses and registrations that expired March 10, while the Senate version, in Senate Bill 704, would go back to March 1. Both would apply to credentials set to expire before Aug. 1.
The deadlines for renewing licenses and vehicle registrations are set by state law. The DMV requested the extensions in part because it had fielded complaints from people who couldn’t understand why they needed to get their car inspected or visit a driver’s license office when the governor had ordered people to stay at home to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The DMV has also reduced its capacity to issue or renew driver’s licenses in person to prevent crowding that could help spread the virus. The agency closed 61 of its smaller offices and is taking customers at the remaining 57 offices by appointment only. It has also suspended all road tests, except for commercial driver’s licenses.
Both bills were being heard in committees Wednesday.
The House version would also push back the date when DMV must move its headquarters from Raleigh to Rocky Mount. A bill passed in 2018 set a deadline of Oct. 1, 2020, for DMV to vacate its complex on New Bern Avenue, and the agency had planned to move to rented offices in Rocky Mount starting this summer.
But fearing a backlog of requests for licenses and registrations, the DMV asked for an extension, to begin the move on Oct. 1. The House bill would grant that extension, but the Senate version would not.
The House and Senate also have different ideas for helping the N.C. Department of Transportation, which expects to receive $300 million less in gas taxes and other revenue this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Senate bill would allocate up to $300 million to NCDOT in federal relief money, but only if Congress amends the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act to allow money to be used for that purpose. The CARES Act provides money for airports and public transit agencies but not for state highway departments.
The House bill, meanwhile, would reduce the minimum balance NCDOT must have in cash at the end of each month. Under a formula set by state law, the department’s current “cash floor” is $292.7 million; the House bill would reduce that to $125 million, giving it more flexibility.
