Guinn discusses DMV Genesis system

LAS VEGAS - A 30-day grace period for vehicle registration is one of the proposals expected to come out of a press conference Gov. Kenny Guinn is scheduled to give today on the Department of Motor Vehicles' Genesis system.

Spokesman Jack Finn told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday that Guinn will suggest the grace period, even though Nevada law specifically says there is no grace period for registering vehicles. Finn wasn't certain how that will be overcome legally.

The press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.

Las Vegas police are using their discretion about whether to cite someone for expired license plates, according to police spokesman Steve Meriwether. However, he said there has been no blanket order to give people a pass for expired license plates or out-of-date driver's licenses.

During public testimony, Las Vegan Debra Taylor explained the hours she had spent in line on her own behalf and helping her son.

"Somebody has to be accountable for it. Time is money. Can we afford to have people spend this kind of time in lines?" she said. "This is vast reaching. It goes behind the system; we're dealing with people's lives here."

She expressed concern for the state employees dealing with frustrated customers and their stress level.

Genesis department head Ginny Lewis said even knowing what she knows now, the department would have started Sept. 7 as planned. She stressed that the computer system is getting faster and solutions are being found.

However, Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, cited Lewis' own numbers - that on the day Genesis started, there were no major bugs; two weeks ago there were 30, and now there are 300 critical-level bugs that must be cured. "That says it all to me," he said.

Although Lewis said the money will eventually come in, Beers said the checks that are written monthly to the school districts won't be as large if the department isn't collecting the money.

Only one-third to one-fourth of the titles normally issued are being issued each month because of difficulties with Genesis, Beers said.

State Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, participated from Carson City though a video conference. He said the decision was made to hire a consultant to write a new program, rather than adapt another state's program, after Nevada spent $8 million to buy a welfare computer program from Illinois - and another $100 million to fix it.