Ohio increases BMV, hunting fees

Get ready to pay more at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

The two-year state budget, an amended version of House Bill 96 that lawmakers passed and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law earlier this year, changes the fees that various state agencies charge.

One of the changes would increase the service charge that the BMV and deputy registrars charge from $5 to $8. The budget allocates revenues collected from the increased portion of the service fee retained by the Registrar for the State Highway Patrol.

The measure requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to adjust the prorated multi-year registration service fee to reflect the increase in the fee. It also nixes a requirement that the BMV accept motor vehicle registration renewal payments by telephone and expands the agency’s options for electronic and online transactions.

Cleveland.com, citing the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission, reported that the fee increase could generate $46.8 million annually for the state patrol. This would help alleviate DeWine’s concerns that the state police agency is facing a budget shortfall. According to the report, it is the first fee increase since it was created in 2017.

The BMV fee increase was one of many included in the roughly 5,000-page budget.

For example, within the Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, nonresident deer permits would increase from $74 to $210. The proposal also increases the various fishing license fees nonresidents from non-reciprocal states are charged, including the annual fishing license fee (from $49 to $74), the three-day tourist fishing license fee (from $24 to $50), and the one-day fishing license fee (from $13 to $26).

The measure increases the fees related to the agency’s air pollution control program by 50%. This includes fees for facility permits and annual fees based on air pollution emissions or capacity.

It also sets an annual $5,000 flat fee for synthetic minor facilities and “Title V air pollution control permit holders,” in addition to the existing emission-based yearly fees. The measure also eliminates the $140 registration application and renewal fee for infectious waste generators.

Conversely, it nixes the application fee for industrial water pollution control facilities that file for a certificate to exempt the facility from certain taxes. The fee is 0.5% of the project costs of an exempt facility, up to a maximum of $2,000.

On the BMV front, last month, DeWine announced that technology upgrades allowing certain transactions to take place without an in-person visit would save Ohioans more than 10 million trips to the BMV.

“We’ve put significant focus on using technology to save customers’ valuable time and cut down on congestion at BMV deputy registrar locations across the state,” DeWine said in a release. “This milestone demonstrates the importance of these upgrades, which have made BMV services more accessible and efficient.”

Additionally, the earlier $11.5 billion state transportation budget maintained voter registration at the BMV as long as the applicant provides proof of U.S. citizenship, which is required to cast a ballot in the Buckeye State.

The budget also directs the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency director to “immediately discontinue” and “take any actions necessary to effectuate” the end of the E-Check program should the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determine that Ohio no longer must follow federal ozone standards. The program mandates motor vehicle emissions tests be administered every two years for motorists in Cuyahoga and six additional surrounding counties — Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit.