Nevada lawmakers: $1 state DMV refunds to be made in-person
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers have decided that motorists who want refunds of a $1-per-transaction surcharge that courts decided was unconstitutionally authorized in 2020 will have to go in-person to state Department of Motor Vehicles offices.
The state Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee signed off Thursday on the refund program, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The move aims to comply with a Nevada Supreme Court ruling last May that said the surcharge was unconstitutionally authorized by the Legislature because the state constitution requires revenue measures to be approved by two-thirds majorities in both chambers.
Senate Republicans opposed extending the DMV fee along with a tax on businesses in 2019, and filed suit after Democrats approved them.
The DMV said it was collecting about $7 million per year from the fee but would provide refunds after the court ruling.
The Review-Journal reports that five other refund options were dismissed as more complex and costly than the amount collected, including mailing checks to all DMV customers.
The rule that lawmakers adopted says people will have to present receipts in person at a DMV office for refunds.
Business customers, with a larger volume of transactions, can receive checks.
Refunds to the nearly 68,000 business customers represent a third of all fees to be refunded, the Review-Journal reported.