Senate passes deputy registrars reimbursement bill

The Minnesota Senate today passed a bill authored by Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault) to reimburse deputy registrars who were battered by problems created by Minnesota’s failed new vehicle licensing and registrations system (MNLARS).  Senate File 621 authorizes $13 million for deputy registrars, to be appropriated based on the number of transactions processed by each registrar. A similar measure was vetoed in last year’s supplemental budget bill.

“MNLARS has been a disaster in every possible respect, but those who have been hurt the most are deputy registrars,” said Sen. Jasinski. “These are folks who nearly lost everything. Some of them are on the verge of bankruptcy. They have had to spend their reserves, work overtime, borrow against their 401K, or take out second mortgages just to stay afloat. This all happened through no fault of their own. The state put them in this position, and the state has an obligation to help. I am glad we were able to get this done today.”

The bill appropriates $13 million to reimburse deputy registrars, broken down as follows:

  • 10% allocated equally among all deputy registrars.
  • 45% allocated proportionally based on the number of transactions by each deputy registrar after the release of MNLARS, from August 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018.
  • 45% allocated proportionally based on the number of transactions by each deputy registrar prior to the release of MNLARS, from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017.

To receive a reimbursement, deputy registrars must request the reimbursement and then sign an agreement releasing the state from liability with respect to MNLARS. The reimbursement request and liability release must be submitted by June 30, 2019. The Commissioner has five days to distribute the funds after receiving the request and the liability release.

Funds that are not dispersed will be returned to the general fund. If a deputy registrar chooses not to sign the liability release form, their share will be returned to the general fund and the deputy registrar could then continue to pursue a legal course of action.