Vehicles: registration and title information.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to furnish the legal owner of record of a vehicle, upon his or her request, information regarding the current registration status of the vehicle, including the license plate number and address of the registered owner of the vehicle. Existing law also authorizes the department to charge a fee to pay for the cost of furnishing this information. Existing federal law establishes the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) program in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide an electronic means to verify and exchange titling, brand, and theft data among motor vehicle administrators, law enforcement officials, prospective purchasers, and insurance carriers in participating states. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2010, to be in full compliance with the federal Anti Car Theft Act of 1992 and the DOJ's rules governing the federal National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) , to the extent practicable. The bill also would require the department, by that date, to eliminate any restrictions to consumer access to titling, branding, and theft information provided by the department to NMVTIS, to ensure that prospective purchasers have instant and reliable access to California's data.