I. Upon approval of the attorney general and governor and council, the department may enter into an agreement with an electronic vehicle registration integrator to provide, at no cost to the state, any necessary hardware, software, or network connections between dealer agents, the department, and towns for the electronic transmittal and receipt of registration and title data and money. The electronic vehicle registration integrator shall be authorized in the agreement to collect and transfer funds electronically from the dealers to the department, towns, cities, or town clerks, where appropriate. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 261:141-b and N.H. Rev. Stat. § 80:52-c shall not apply to electronic transfers to or from an electronic vehicle registration integrator or a dealer agent. Electronic vehicle registration integrators shall transmit funds within one business day of the completion of the registration to the appropriate entity if the entity accepts electronic transfers of funds and within 20 days to any other entity. The transmittal of funds by an EVR integrator to a town or city or the state pursuant to this section shall not be considered a delegation of a town’s, city’s, or state’s deposit function as set forth in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 41:29.
II. An agreement under this section shall provide for minimum standards established by the department and the department of information technology for transfers of data and funds, financial solvency of the electronic vehicle registration integrator, training of dealer-agents, and town clerks, if necessary, by the electronic vehicle registration integrator, implementation of an electronic vehicle registration integrator “help line” to assist dealer agents, automatic and accurate calculation of all fees required by this chapter, electronic transmittal of applicable documents to the towns, cities, and state, bonding to indemnify the state, municipalities, and dealer agents in the event of loss, security, and privacy of motor vehicle records, access by state-appointed auditors to the records and reports of the electronic vehicle registration integrator, minimum standards for the accuracy and timeliness of submission of data and funds, reporting to the state, towns, or cities, transmittal of fees required to register a motor vehicle, issue a permit for registration, transfer a motor vehicle registration, or title a vehicle provided said fees are transmitted to the appropriate entity in the manner set forth in this chapter, conditions for cancellation of the agreement, and the other requirements related to the efficient and economical administration of this subdivision. The reporting to the towns, cities, and state shall provide notice of registrations processed, allow proper and accurate collection and remittance of town or city moneys, allow integration of data and moneys into software used by towns and cities to transmit registration data to the state, allow towns and cities to clearly identify the particular fees collected and remitted, and provide vehicle specific data including the maker’s list price, and vehicle make and model. The department shall solicit input from affected municipalities before entering into an agreement under this section.
III. To ensure the EVR integrator and dealer agents are accurately calculating the applicable fees and properly transmitting the fees and data, and that towns and cities may integrate the data and fees into the software used by towns and cities to transmit registration data to the state, the EVR program shall be implemented as follows:
(a) The first year of the EVR program shall involve a limited number of dealers and towns and cities as determined by the director and a single EVR integrator to ensure that the EVR program is successfully implemented. The director shall select which towns, cities, and dealers shall participate during the first year from a list of desiring volunteers submitted to the director by the senate president and the speaker of the house of representatives within 60 days of the effective date of this section. The director shall select the participants after obtaining the input of the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks’ Association and the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association. The director shall ensure that a combination of large and small municipalities and large and small dealers are included in the initial group.
(b) After the EVR program has operated for 270 days, the director shall seek formal input from the EVR advisory group established in paragraph IV and towns, cities, and dealer agents involved in the program as to whether or not the EVR integrator and dealer agents are properly calculating and assessing applicable fees, properly transmitting the fees and data, and properly integrating data and moneys into the software used by towns and cities to transmit registration data to the state.
(c) After no more than 365 days of operation, the director, with consultation from the EVR advisory group established in paragraph IV, shall determine if the EVR program has achieved material compliance with the requirements set forth in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 261:74-h through N.H. Rev. Stat. § 261:74-s.
(d) The director, upon determining under subparagraph (c) that the EVR program has either achieved material compliance or has not achieved material compliance, shall report the basis for the determination to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the senate and house standing committees with jurisdiction over commerce, and shall include any recommendations for statutory changes that may be necessary, in his or her opinion, to facilitate material compliance.
(e) If the director determines that there is a failure of the EVR program to materially comply with the requirements, he or she may, upon consultation with the EVR advisory group established in paragraph IV, authorize an additional 180 days of operation of the program to allow the achievement of material compliance with the requirements. No later than the one hundred eightieth day of the extension, the director shall, with consultation with the EVR advisory group, determine if material compliance with the requirements has been achieved. If material compliance has not been achieved by the end of the extension, the program shall end.
(f) Upon achievement of material compliance with the requirements of the EVR program, the director, upon consultation with the EVR advisory group established in paragraph IV, shall develop a plan to bring all remaining towns and cities who are municipal agents under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 261:74-a into the EVR program and allow additional dealer agents to apply for inclusion in the program. Any municipality that is not a municipal agent shall not be required to participate in the EVR program.
(g) One year after the incorporation of the remaining municipal agents into the EVR program, the department may enter into agreements with additional EVR integrators.
(h) After the incorporation of all municipal agents into the EVR program, the director shall evaluate on a periodic basis, no less than annually, whether the EVR integrators and dealer agents are properly calculating and assessing applicable fees, properly transmitting the fees and data, and properly integrating data and moneys into the software used by towns and cities to transmit registration data to the state.
IV. The director shall form an EVR advisory group consisting of representatives from the department of information technology, the division of motor vehicles, the department of safety, the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks’ Association, the New Hampshire Government Finance Officers Association, organizations representing the interests of town managers and administrators, the New Hampshire Municipal Association, the New Hampshire Local Government Information Network, the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association, the EVR integrators, and other persons the director deems necessary. The primary purpose of the EVR advisory group is to ensure that the EVR program meets the requirements in rules and law. The EVR advisory group shall meet at least quarterly.
V. The director shall periodically evaluate whether the EVR program affects registration-related assistance provided to towns and cities by the department.
VI. The EVR integrator shall be responsible for all reasonable costs, as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the EVR integrator, of the state and towns for:
(a) The development, implementation, and integration of, and ongoing maintenance required to effectively operate, the EVR program; and
(b) Software modifications necessary to integrate EVR program moneys and data into software used by towns to transmit registration data to the state.