Helping Minnesota's Deputy Registrars

Since the troubled rollout of the state's Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS), deputy registrars--private businesses contracted to handle state transactions--have faced financial hardship due to loss revenue resulting from difficulties in successfully completing license and tab renewals. Following their approval of a bill funding ongoing fixes with MNLARS software, the Minnesota Senate approved a bill Thursday, March 21, that would allocate $13 million dollars for reimbursement to the small operators.

Sponsored by Senator John Jasinski, R-Faibault, the bill would distribute 10 percent of the money equally among all Deputy Registrars. Another 45 percent would be allocated proportionally based on the number of transactions conducted April 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018. That time frame followed the troubled release of MNLARS new software system. The final amount would be allocated proportionally based on transactions conducted July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017, which is before the implementation of the new software.

In other action, the Senate approved a bill allocating $10 million dollars from the general fund to the disaster contingency account. The action reflects the anticipated hardship communities will face due to Spring flooding.