Section 42-1-234 - Electronic vehicle registration and titling - electronic transmission of vehicle lien information - authority - rules - electronic transactions fund - gifts, grants, and donations - repeal(1)(a) On or before March 31, 2026, the department shall establish a system to allow the electronic transmission of registration, lien, and titling information for motor vehicles, off-highway vehicles, or special mobile machinery. On or before March 31, 2026, the system must support the ability to generate a title and registration for new leased vehicles and support the ability to generate a title for a lessee who purchases the lessee's leased vehicle without affecting the lessee's existing registration. On or before January 1, 2027, the system must support the ability to generate a new registration for a vehicle to a new lessee without modifying the title. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the department may adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this section, including rules to allow the department to: (I) Maintain titling information electronically and to produce paper titles only upon request of a party;(II) Accept electronic signatures on any documents, including title transfers, odometer disclosures, and powers of attorney, required to issue a certificate of title to a new owner;(III) Eliminate any notarization requirements for document signatures;(IV) Allow all parties to electronically file and release lien information;(V) Authorize approved third-party providers to: (A) Electronically process registration, lien, and titling information and transmit the information to the department as authorized by the department;(B) Order, manage, and distribute the department's license plate inventory to a client; and(C) Access, print, and distribute the department's registration information to a client on demand.(b) The department's approval of a third-party provider to register a vehicle or special mobile machinery, file or release liens, or issue any type of certificate of title must be evidenced by an agreement between the department and the third-party provider.(c) In registering a vehicle or special mobile machinery, filing or releasing liens, or issuing any type of certificate of title, the third-party provider is acting as an agent of the department. The third-party provider shall collect and remit to the department all taxes and fees imposed by law to issue any type of certificate of title, file or release a lien, or to register the vehicle or special mobile machinery.(d) A third-party provider may charge its clients a fee for each electronic registration transaction, lien transaction, or titling transaction. The client may charge a consumer the fee the client paid to the third-party provider if the fee charged to the consumer does not exceed the fee charged to the client.(e) The department shall ensure that the addresses of program participants under part 21 of article 30 of title 24 are not released to third-party providers or the clients of third-party providers.(f)(I) Beginning in January 2025, and every year thereafter, the department shall include, as part of its presentation during its "SMART Act" hearing required by section 2-7-203, information concerning the implementation of the electronic titling and registration system required by subsection (1)(a) of this section.(II) Beginning in January 2025, and every year thereafter, the department shall submit an annual report to the joint budget committee concerning the implementation of the electronic titling and registration system required by subsection (1)(a) of this section.(2)(a) The department is authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources, including from third-party providers, for the purposes of this section; except that the department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this section or any other law of the state. The department shall ensure that any funds contributed to the department for the implementation of the system for the electronic transmission of registration, lien, and titling information for motor vehicles, vehicles, off-highway vehicles, and special mobile machinery are: (I) Used only for the implementation of the system; and(II) Transferred to the state treasurer, who shall credit the funds to the electronic transactions fund.(b)(I) In addition to the fees described in subsection (1)(c) of this section, a third-party provider shall pay the department a fee of up to three dollars for each of the following types of transactions completed by the third-party provider: (A) Issuance of or transfer of a certificate of title for a motor vehicle or an off-highway vehicle;(B) Issuance of or renewal of a registration for a motor vehicle, a vehicle, or special mobile machinery; and(C) A transaction that includes both the transactions described in subsections (2)(b)(I)(A) and (2)(b)(I)(B) of this section.(II) The third-party provider may charge its client the fee imposed in subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section.(III) The department shall set the fee imposed in subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section to:(A) Offset the direct and indirect costs of administering the electronic transmission of registration, lien, and titling information in accordance with this section; and(B) Collect one million six hundred thirty-one thousand seven hundred ninety-two dollars by June 30, 2023. If the amount is not collected by June 30, 2023, the department shall set the fee to collect the remaining amount by December 31, 2023.(IV) The department shall remit all fees collected under this subsection (2)(b) to the state treasurer, who shall credit:(A) One million six hundred thirty-one thousand seven hundred ninety-two dollars of the fees to the general fund; and(B) All other money collected from the fees to the electronic transactions fund.(V) The department shall specify to the state treasurer the percentage of the fees that covers the administration of electronic transmission of registration, lien, and titling information in accordance with this section, and the state treasurer shall credit that percentage of the fees to the electronic transactions fund in accordance with subsection (2)(b)(IV)(B) of this section.(VI) Subsections (2)(b)(III)(B), (2)(b)(IV)(A), and (2)(b)(V) of this section and this subsection (2)(b)(VI) are repealed, effective July 1, 2024.(3)(a) The department need not promulgate rules, under subsection (1) of this section, that implement electronic transactions until the department has adequate money in the electronic transactions fund to implement the promulgated rules. The department shall, upon having adequate money in the fund, phase in implementation of this section as reasonable. The general assembly may appropriate money from the general fund or the highway users tax fund created in section 43-4-201 to implement this section.(b) This subsection (3) does not affect any rules promulgated, or appropriations made, before July 1, 2019.(4)(a) The electronic transactions fund, referred to in this subsection (4) as the "fund", is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund consists of money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund and money credited to the fund under this section.(b) The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.(c) Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the department may expend state money from the fund to implement and administer electronic transmission of registration, lien, and titling information in accordance with this section.(5)(a) Subsections (2)(a) and (3) of this section and this subsection (5) will be repealed if the department fully implements this section. Upon fully implementing this section, the executive director of the department shall notify the revisor of statutes in writing of the date on which the condition specified in this subsection (5)(a) has occurred by e-mailing the notice to revisorofstatutes.ga@coleg.gov.(b) Subsections (2)(a) and (3) of this section and this subsection (5) are repealed, effective upon the date identified in the notice that this section was fully implemented or, if the notice does not specify that date, upon the date of the notice to the revisor of statutes.Amended by 2024 Ch. 329,§ 5, eff. 6/3/2024.Amended by 2021 Ch. 475, § 1, eff. 7/7/2021.Renumbered from C.R.S. § 42-3-113.5 and amended by 2018 Ch. 297, § 4, eff. 7/1/2019.Amended by 2014 Ch. 302, § 47, eff. 5/31/2014.Amended by 2013 Ch. 407, § 41, eff. 6/5/2013 and applicable to acts committed on or after 7/1/2014.Added by 2013 Ch. 380, § 3, eff. 6/5/2013.L. 2018: Entire section added with relocations, (HB 18-1299), ch. 1809, p. 1809, § 4, effective 7/1/2019. L. 2021: (2) and (3)(a) amended and (4) and (5) added, (SB 21-076), ch. 3400, p. 3400, § 1, effective July 7.(1) This section is similar to former § 42-3-113.5 as it existed prior to 2019.
(2) As of publication date, the revisor of statutes has not received the notice referred to in subsection (5).