HELENA — The Montana Legislature is looking at legislation to make some changes to how people transfer vehicle ownership in the state.
House Bill 165 would remove the requirement for notarization when transferring a vehicle title.
(Learn more about how lawmakers are looking to change vehicle title transfers in Montana)
The bill's sponsor Rep. Ken Walsh, R-Twin Bridges, says the goal is to make the title transfer process easier on people, and that it could be a game changer for those in rural communities.
"I come from a very rural area, and trying to transfer titles becomes an obstacle because a notary is a lot of times very hard to find," said Walsh.
There are 42 states currently that do not require notaries, and Walsh wants Montana to join them.
HB 165 is also part of a bigger movement the Montana Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) is working on to make the whole process of title transferring electronic in March.
Opponents of HB 165 like Rep. Brian Close, D-Bozeman, say that this bill could pose some issues with fraud, especially for the older population.
"Notary services provide to prevent fraud. And removing that from the equation — I understand the modernization, the big things faster people with cars on weekends, I understand all that — but the opportunity for exploitation, particularly of seniors, is just too great for me," said Close.
During the bill's hearing, MVD's Vehicle Services Bureau Chief Michael Walker claims that won't be an issue.
"This is going to enable us to further electronic titling in Montana. I can go into detail on that if you like. But basically, electronic titling is going to be the future. It's going to relieve some bottlenecks and it's going to increase our ability to detect fraud," said Walker.
HB 165 passed the House, and waiting on action from the Senate.
