Hot line putting out-of-state license plate scofflaws on spot

New residents are required by state law to obtain their driver’s license within 30 days and to register their vehicles within 60 days.

Constable deputies are not pulling over vehicles. Instead, they are investigating complaints coming into a new hot line established as part of the program.

People can call 702-455-FAIR (455-3247) to report suspects. The license plate number, make and model, location and vehicle color are needed for the complaint.

The constable’s office has received 1,096 hot line calls, eight e-mails, eight faxes and seven letters from residents turning in their neighbors. Five people have been cited, said Capt. Dan Palazzo of the constable’s office.

“It’s a week old. We’re dealing with a lot of phone calls and voice mails,” Palazzo said. “Just because we get a call doesn’t mean we’re going out to cite that person. We want to make sure when we go out and do this that we’re going out to someone who is actually violating the law.”

That’s why the constable’s office is doing background checks using assessor records and DMV information to confirm residency.

Snowbirds and nonworking active military members who live in Las Vegas Township part-time are exempt.

But drivers who live in the area, which includes the city of Las Vegas and much of unincorporated Clark County including Indian Springs and Mount Charleston, and fail to register their vehicles will be ticketed.

It is unclear just how much money the new program will recover for schools and county projects. The state loses money from drivers who keep their out-of-state plates.

One high-profile motorist who switched over her tags recently was Boulder City Manager Vicki Mayes. She reluctantly exchanged the Montana license plates on her Nissan GT-R sports car for Nevada plates because of the new law. She said an attorney told her she didn’t have to register the car because it is registered in the name of a limited liability corporation that she and her husband recently formed in Montana.

About 2,000 drivers per month don’t register their vehicles in Nevada, according to DMV figures. Drivers who bring a vehicle from another state must have the vehicle identification number inspected at a DMV branch, said Kevin Malone, DMV spokesman.

“Our VIN inspectors did a very informal survey during the grace period,” Malone said. “They asked people if they were coming in as a response from all the publicity and media this program received last month. And 439 people acknowledged that’s why they came in from July 27 to Aug. 10.”

Those 439 drivers generated $78,142 of revenue in those two weeks for the county, according to Constable Robert “Bobby G” Gronauer. Registration fees for those drivers averaged at $178 per vehicle. There is a $33 state registration fee, and the rest are county taxes.

Those who violate vehicle registration laws in the township will face a maximum $1,000 fine plus a $100 constable fee. A judge can reduce the fine to $200 if violators can show proof of registration of their vehicles at the time of their hearings.

The constable fee must be paid before the vehicle can be registered in the state.

Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.