Retention of motor vehicle records

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the retention of motor vehicle records

Purpose of the bill

This bill would provide the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) with greater discretion and flexibility in establishing retention schedules for certain DMV records.

Summary of provisions

This bill would amend subparagraph (i) of paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 of section 201 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) to provide that if such section does not provide a specific retention period for a DMV record, the commissioner, in consultation with State Archives shall establish a retention schedule for such record.

Existing law

Current law provides specific retention periods for many DMV records, and provides that the retention period shall be four years where no specific period is designated.

Legislative history

This is a new proposal.

Statement in support

This proposal is necessary to more clearly and realistically define DMV's record retention schedule. Retention periods for DMV records are defined in VTL §§ 201 (1)(i) and 201(3). For example, registration and title applications for motor vehicles are maintained as public records for five years; while applications for snowmobile registrations are maintained for two years. VTL § 201(1)(i)(i) provides, however, that if a retention period is not established for a specific type of record, then the record must be retained for four years. This "catch-all" provision creates both substantive and practical problems for DMV. This one-size fits-all provision is not appropriate for all records.

By way of example, most telephone logs and reports must be retained for at least four years because of the "catch-all" provision. The State Archives recommended retention period for this record is one year. Another example is a facility maintenance work order or log, which the NYS Archives recommends retaining for only three years. Currently, DMV must maintain such records for four years. Sometimes, the "catch-all" period is insufficient. For example, the State Archives recommends that records related to agency-let contracts be retained for six years beyond the expiration of the contract or the final payment, whichever is later. In this case, DMV's minimum four year retention, although compliant with the VTL, does not meet the period recommended by the State Archives, which reflects the six year statute of limitations to sue on breach of contract in the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

In regard to emails, the four year retention policy is simply unrealistic. It would be an extraordinary burden for DMV to retain all emails for this length of time.

All other State agencies consult with the State Archives to formulate retention schedules for agency records. This proposal would simply be consistent with this practice. The overall result should be to reduce the amount of files currently maintained by DMV, or at least, more clearly define how long they should be retained.

Budget implications

A reduction in the records required to be stored would reduce the cost of storage, and of staff time needed to file and maintain those records.

Effective date

This bill would take effect 90 days after becoming law.