SUN CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- The Genesis jinx
has struck again.
Nevada's 63 legislators are the
latest victims to be caught in a
vortex of the much-maligned new
computer system at the state
Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety.
All lawmakers are entitled to a free
license plate that notes whether
they are in the Senate or
Assembly and where they stand
on the seniority list. For instance
the legislator who has served in
the Senate the longest has a "1"
on the plate and the same holds
true for the Assembly.
They are usually renewed at the
beginning of each year free of
charge. But not this year, the first
with the new Genesis computer
system.
The department confirmed it sent
each lawmaker a bill for $167
charged for ownership of a
nonexistent 1998 Mercury in Lyon
County.
"The computer generated the
renewal in error, but it was an easy
fix," Kim Evans, public information
officer for the department, said.
Legislators' plates in the past were
done by hand. But when they
were put in the computer, there
was a human error, Evans said
Friday.
"We're sorry," she said.
"That's pretty funny," said
Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las
Vegas, who heads a legislative
subcommittee overseeing the
progress on Genesis. He said he
has not received his bill yet, but it
takes a little time for it to get to his
legislative mailbox.
Lawmakers, even though they
have the special plates on the
outside of their vehicles, must
keep their regular plates up to
date and inside the vehicle, Evans
said.
When the Genesis computer
system came online last
September, it contributed to long
lines to register cars or get driver's
licenses and produced incorrect
information in some cases. But
things have gotten better.
The long lines have shortened,
Beers said Sunday, but they "are
still a little longer than they use to
be" before the new system kicked
in. He said the problems with
issuing the titles appears to be
solved.
The complaints he said he's
receiving now are from people who
were overcharged by the agency
in the early days of the computer
switchover. "My constituents are
wondering why it takes so long to
get a refund," he said. "They are
growing impatient."
Beers said he hopes the
department is just four to five
months away from new technology
to allow motorists to renew their
motor vehicle registration and
driver's license by telephone or
computer. In Clark and Washoe
counties, the department is
working to allow smog check
stations to process renewal of car
registrations.
That will reduce customer visits to
the offices of the agency and
mean shorter lines, he said.
His subcommittee will hold a
hearing Feb. 1 in Carson City to
review the progress of Genesis
and to consider a reorganization
plan for the department.
-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), January 10, 2000