Latest news with #HouseEnrolledAct1390
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indiana BMV unveils new ‘blackout' license plates, available starting August
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles' new blackout plate, featuring a black background with white characters, will be available to Hoosier drivers starting August 8, 2025. (Casey Smith/ Indiana Capital Chronicle) Indiana drivers will soon have a new option at the license branch: the state's first all-black license plate. The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles officially revealed the 'blackout' plates on Monday, joining a growing number of states offering the 'minimalist' design. Beginning Aug. 8, the plate will be available for all Hoosier drivers registering a passenger car, light truck under 11,000 pounds, motorcycle, or RV. A disability-accessible version will be released at a later date, according to agency officials. 'It's very simple in its design, but it really gives car drivers and vehicle owners an opportunity to express themselves in a way that they haven't had,' BMV Commissioner Kevin Garvey said at Monday's launch event, held at the Indiana Government Center in downtown Indianapolis. 'It's a form of expression for them.' Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and other states have already adopted similar plates. Hoosier lawmakers authorized the plate during the 2025 legislative session in House Enrolled Act 1390, a wide-ranging BMV agency measure. Bill author Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, said earlier this year that blackout plates would give Hoosier more options at the BMV and provide the state with 'really simple' additional revenue that could total into the millions. 'The feedback that we have gotten from Hoosiers would tell me it's going to be popular,' Garvey said. 'But we really want to try to wait and see.' The blackout plate will carry an annual fee of $45, with an additional $45 fee if drivers opt for a personalized plate number. Personalized messages can contain up to seven characters and one space. Drivers don't have to wait for their current plate to expire, though; they can swap to the blackout plate early for an additional $9.50 fee. BMV officials said the replacement charge helps offset the cost of the new metal plate, which otherwise would be replaced on a standard seven-year cycle. The plate must be ordered through a BMV branch and cannot be purchased online or at a kiosk if it's a replacement prior to expiration. For new registrations and renewals, it will be available via at BMV Connect kiosks, or in person. Officials also warned customers to avoid third-party sites claiming to offer Indiana blackout plates. Only BMV-issued plates are legally valid. The design cannot be combined with any specialty or graphic plate options. But Garvey said other plate designs could be made available in the future. He pointed to Michigan for example, which additionally offers license plates with blue and green backgrounds. Unlike most specialty plates, which largely cover only production costs, the blackout plate is expected to generate upwards of $3 million in revenue for the state in the first year of availability. The BMV will collect a bulk of the fees from each blackout plate — far more than the $5 the agency gets from other specialty plates, Garvey said. A legislative fiscal analysis showed that most of the revenue — $34 — will go to the BMV Commission Fund to support agency operations. The remaining amount is split between the Motor Vehicle Highway Account ($7) and the Crossroads 2000 Fund ($4). Of the share sent to the highway account, $4.34 will benefit the Indiana Department of Transportation, while $2.66 will be distributed to local governments. Garvey was cautious, however, about forecasting exact revenue potentials but said the agency anticipates around 100,000 blackout plates to be sold over the next 12 months. He looked to Minnesota, which launched its blackout option in 2024 and sold more than 250,000 plates in its first year. Iowa, home to the country's longest-running blackout program since 2019, now has nearly 586,000 blackout plates on the road — roughly 12% of all plates issued there 'This is a revenue source for the bureau,' Garvey said. 'We're excited about the potential to reinvest that revenue back into our employees, but also into the agency.' That includes fulfilling an executive order from Gov. Mike Braun directing the BMV to modernize and invest in new technology to improve customer service, the commissioner noted. 'There are over 6 million vehicles on the road (in Indiana), and we want to make sure that if folks want to get one of these, they know about it and are able to do so,' Garvey said. 'This is going to be really, really exciting, and we're certainly looking forward to seeing what happens.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indiana crackdown on ‘predatory' towing to take effect in July
Revamped towing regulations tripped Indiana lawmakers up for nearly four months but survived a chaotic legislative session. Indiana is getting tougher on 'predatory' vehicle towing. Revamped regulations tripped Indiana lawmakers up for nearly four months but emerged from a chaotic legislative session within House Enrolled Act 1390, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles' (BMV) annual package. They're set to take effect next month after a zig-zagging path through the Statehouse. 'Indiana is the No. 1 predatory towing state in the nation,' author Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle. '… Our towing practices exploit and harm trucking companies in their time of need.' Surveyed commercial carriers logged the most 'predatory' towing incidents relative to mileage in Indiana between 2021 and 2023, according to a report by the American Transportation Research Institute. The state also had few of the personal vehicle owner towing protections identified in a 2021 report from the Public Interest Research Group's Consumer Watchdog team. 'House Enrolled Act 1390 holds towing providers accountable, requiring transparency, capping fees and ensuring access to personal belongings, while penalizing bad actors who are taking advantage of a bad situation,' Pressel said. That research sparked a Hoosier campaign for reform. 'The great majority of the towers … are responsible businesspeople and are not the problem, but there's a small percentage that have taken advantage of the industry, and those are the ones that we're focused on,' Indiana Motor Truck Association President and CEO Gary Langston said. After learning of the commercial tow findings, Langston began asking around — and was 'bombarded with invoices' from in-state and out-of-state carriers. Indiana law already mandates itemized receipts, but that doesn't mean all charges are legitimate. Langston recalled one invoice for an 18-mile tow that featured a fuel surcharge of more than $7,000. He also described seeing overstated hourly labor costs and various 'hidden' fees in the miscellaneous and administrative columns on the invoices. Commercial vehicle interests additionally sought greater recourse for recovering vehicles and the client loads inside while disputing such charges. In committee hearings, Indiana Towing & Wrecker Association President Karrie Driscol expressed openness to additional regulations but similarly blamed the complaints on a handful of bad actors. Her organization declined comment to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Several chunks of incoming Indiana code tackle what Langston dubbed 'egregious' overcharging. Towing companies on the Indiana State Police (ISP) rotation will only be able to charge the rates they've already filed when ISP calls them for emergency tows. When their services are requested by local law enforcement agencies, the restrictions shift. If there are set rates, that's what'll get charged. If not, a company could charge its ISP rates. If the company isn't on the ISP rotation, it will charge, at most, what's in the ISP district's agreements. The legislation also requires law enforcement agencies to include a lengthy list of provisions in written policies or contracts entered into, amended or renewed after June 30: contract lengths, service and storage rates, allowable administrative fees, a prohibition on charging unlisted fees, a provision allowing the agencies to suspend or remove violator companies, and more. When private property owners request tows, companies will charge whatever rates are in the agreements they already have with the owners, according to the legislation. If there's no preexisting agreement, a company must charge a rate applicable under the legislation's local law enforcement agency provisions. The state's itemized invoice requirement also got tweaks. Come July 1, invoices must include the number of miles the vehicle was towed, a 'good faith estimate' of where and how long invoiced items were used, and an attestation that all invoiced items were 'used and necessary in the ordinary course of business.' Fees must also be accompanied by 'full' descriptions of the services provided. Towing companies and storage facilities are barred from charging inspection fees but could charge for retrieval. Another piece of the legislation lets commercial carriers file complaints with the Indiana Attorney General's Office if they believe the charges are 'unreasonable.' A towing company or storage facility will have to release the impounded vehicle and its cargo within 24 hours of receiving payment for 75% of the invoice, proof of a bond for the remaining 25%, and a copy of the complaint. Legislators also cracked down on towing company compensation offers for referrals. They're banned unless there is a prior contract in play. Towing changes encountered hefty opposition throughout several rounds of changes. House lawmakers briefly considered giving the Secretary of State's Office oversight and requiring that towing companies obtain licenses from the office, but the language ultimately wasn't added to House Enrolled Act 1382 before it left the chamber. Also in the session's first half, procedural deadlines felled two towing-focused proposals. Pressel's committee didn't put one on its hearing agenda; the other advanced to the House floor but languished on the chamber's agenda for eight straight session meetings and died. One Senate committee resurrected that language during its turn to consider the annual BMV agency bill — the same place it was re-inserted more than two weeks later. In between, another panel removed the provisions, prompting Pressel to cram them into a utility trailers sales bill. At the time, Driscol pressed lawmakers for a 'pause' this session. 'May 1, are you available?' she quipped, in a March 31 committee hearing. '… I think that even if this does go, and passes, Chairman Pressel and I will be talking over the summer, because there are still tons of issues that need to be resolved.' She's not alone. Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, was a vocal opponent. He told the Capital Chronicle that he's looking forward to continued work with Pressel and others on the topic. He wants to make sure good towing companies don't get caught up in the new regulatory structure. 'I think it's workable, but it actually kind of contradicts itself as well,' Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, said of the final version. 'There were so many different versions done on the language, trying to get it right.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
