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North Country Assemblywoman Russell says St. Lawrence County DMV needs compensation for online transactions

Posted 9/14/15

Assemblywoman Addie Russell, D-Theresa, is supporting DMV offices in St. Lawrence County and around the state to help county governments with fair compensation to counties for online transactions. As …

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North Country Assemblywoman Russell says St. Lawrence County DMV needs compensation for online transactions

Posted

Assemblywoman Addie Russell, D-Theresa, is supporting DMV offices in St. Lawrence County and around the state to help county governments with fair compensation to counties for online transactions.

As more and more business is done online the state has made it easier for people to do basic tasks, like renewing their vehicle registration, over the internet. But the state is not reimbursing local Department of Motor Vehicle offices for internet services -- a recent development that is problematic for county budgets and not in keeping with the spirit of the longstanding revenue sharing agreements between the state and counties, according to a press release from Russell, who represents the Assembly’s “River District,” which includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River (Massena, Ogdensburg, Louisville, Waddington, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Morristown, and Hammond) plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, and DePeyster, and part of Jefferson County.

“Convenience is a worthwhile goal; I don’t think anyone wants to make it more difficult to renew your registration,” Russell said. “But we need to make sure we’re not hurting our local DMV offices, which provide many important services, in the process.”

Last year more than 5.5 million transactions were completed on the DMV website, Russell said.

Under the current law, counties receive 12.7 percent of the processing fees from local DMV transactions. Online use, however, is not counted and goes straight into the state coffers.

Russell has introduced a bill (A.8386) that would direct the DMV to reimburse county governments for online transactions at the same rate as in-person transactions according to the county residence of the applicant.

“There’s no reason why the state can’t work with county governments while providing a better user experience,” Russell said. “My bill will ensure counties are not stripped of a desperately needed revenue stream.”