Minnesota’s new licensing and registration system, MNLARS, has been a statewide nightmare despite nearly 10 years of preparation and $100 million in expenses. Many deputy registrars have had difficulty processing applications and Minnesotans have been unable to obtain car titles and tabs in a timely manner.
The Legislature is doing a very thorough job of looking into what the issues have been, and how it’s going to be corrected moving forward. A bill moving forward in the Minnesota House would add a new level of accountability to the program.
The proposal, recently approved in the Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee on which I sit, will soon be debated on the Minnesota House floor. The legislation would allow the governor to reduce spending within his administration by $10 million in order to make what he has called a “needed” new MNLARS down payment. It would give the governor authority to make reductions in the executive branch budget as determined by the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget in consultation with the Legislative Advisory Commission.
Considering nearly $100 million has already been spent, it is difficult for me to support any additional spending. After listening to the testimony and hearing about the accountability within the agencies that would be added in this bill, I’m now at the point where I can support funding to correct these MNLARS mistakes.
