Vehicles: Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon registering a vehicle, to issue a certificate of ownership to the legal owner and a registration card to the registered owner, or both to the registered owner, if there is no legal owner of the vehicle. This bill would require the Director of Motor Vehicles, on or before January 1, 2012, to develop an Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program, in consultation with lienholders, licensed dealers, and other stakeholders, that would require all lienholders' title information to be held in an electronic format if the department determines that the program is cost effective compared to the current paper title and registration system. The bill would authorize the director to establish an auto loan business volume threshold below which a lienholder is not required to participate in the program.