Origin
These model laws were originally drafted at the Privatization Working Group's request. A draft was presented at the Second AAMVA Privatization Symposium in March 1998.
Model Law on Motor Vehicle Inspections by Independent Contractors and Self Inspectors
The Model Law on Motor Vehicle Inspections by Independent Contractors and Self Inspectors was adapted from Chapter 325, Florida Statutes (1997). Florida does not have a mandatory safety inspection law, but both emissions and safety inspection were included to make the model useful to as many jurisdictions as possible. The intent of this model law is not to provide a model for a complete inspection program, but rather a model for accomplishing the inspections through private contractors. To this end, the issues necessary to a complete inspection program, such as enforcement of the inspection requirement, frequency of inspection, and standards are not treated.
In drafting substantive model legislation, the usual philosophy of the Model Legislation Working Group is to avoid dealing with procedural matters, public records issues, and other issues best left to the existing statutes of the jurisdiction. This is done both to prevent a particular model law project from expanding to unmanageable proportions and to avoid setting procedural traps for the unwary by carving out exceptions to existing procedural statutes. However, in this model law the Working Group included an exception to the public records law and (Section 2, (12) and (13), and language on some aspects of bid protests (Section 4). Florida has found there types of provisions to be useful.
Model Laws on Motor Vehicle Licensing and Titling by Third Parties and Driver License Testing and Application by Third Parties
These statutes are based on Arizona statutes, essentially Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 28-5103, 28-5105, 28-5106, 28-5107, 28-5109, 28-5110, 28-5133, 28-5135, 28-5166 and 28-5167 (all 1997). The model legislation provides a check list for jurisdictions contemplating privatizing any of these services. To this end, the Working Group attempted to segment the various provisions to allow a drafter to pick and chose from among its various provisions, such as qualifications for licensure or exceptions to the bond requirement.
The idea of these model laws is not to totally replace the government-run system, but to augment it. The experience in Arizona suggests that persons are willing to pay a little more for the convenience and flexibility that a private contractor can provide. This has the added benefit of taking some of the pressure off the government facilities, which allows them to provide better service to the customers that chose to patronize them.
The model laws contain extensive requirements for criminal background checks. These may not be needed or even allowed in some jurisdictions, but they were included in the interest of completeness.
Model Laws on Motor Vehicle Licensing and Titling by Third Parties
Model Laws on Driver License Testing and Applications by Third Parties