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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 20, 2015 09:49 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Rob Teplitz |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Co-Sponsorship memorandum - PennDOT Issuing Agents |
| In the near future, I plan on introducing legislation that would improve PennDOT’s oversight of its contracted agents, would require PennDOT to provide a comprehensive listing of all messenger and agent services and fees and would require all agents to obtain basic agent training before they provide PennDOT services. PennDOT issuing agents or auto tag dealers are private providers who contract with PennDOT to offer many of the same driver licensing, vehicle registration, and titling services that PennDOT itself provides. These contractors offer customers the convenience of obtaining PennDOT services in local communities, and the customers – in addition to paying the standard PennDOT fee for each provided service – pay an additional fee to the contractor. These additional contractor-added fees are set by the contractors themselves and are not regulated by PennDOT. According to a 2013 Auditor General Special Performance Audit, PennDOT did not audit a substantial majority of its agents and did not conduct effective audits on those agents who were audited. There were significant differences in the fees charged by agents and fee variances were not related to geography. Since PennDOT does not know what agents charge and since there are no publicly accessible listings of agents either on PennDOT’s website, the Internet, or in the telephone directory, there is no way for customers to comparison shop. Finally, PennDOT does not require PennDOT card and full agents to obtain basic agent training before they provide PennDOT services. Under the proposed legislation, PennDOT shall maintain on its website a comprehensive listing of all messenger and agent services, which includes the messenger or agent service name and business location, the services offered by the agent and the corresponding fee schedule. The department will establish a maximum fee allowable for each service that a messenger or agent service may offer. Contracted agents would be required to obtain basic agent training before the agent provides services to the general public. Please join me in making the PennDOT Issuing Agent more transparent and accountable to the taxpayers. Thank you for your consideration. |
Introduced as SB1007