Latest news with #Doñate
USA Today
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
DMV wait times are often long. Are appointment resellers making them worse?
DMV wait times are often long. Are appointment resellers making them worse? Show Caption Hide Caption What to do if you lost your license traveling If you lose your license while traveling, contact your DMV to get a printable, temporary copy that will allow you to continue traveling. Problem Solved Ticket resellers have come under fire for profiting off of sky-high prices for major concerts and sporting events. Now, in some parts of the country, officials are investigating whether third-party sellers are making money from free driver's license appointments, too. That's right, it's not just Eras Tour tickets. The tax collector's office in Florida's Miami-Dade County announced last week that it 'uncovered a network of appointment' resellers booking hundreds of Department of Motor Vehicle appointments before turning them around to unsuspecting residents – for a fee. And Florida officials trying to put a stop to the practice aren't alone. State senators in Nevada have also issued warnings about platforms selling DMV slots to people who need to renew their drivers' licenses, register their cars and obtain copies of important documents, such as birth certificates and marriage licenses. More: Real ID deadline 2 months away: 'Your air travel may be delayed' if you're not in compliance Selling public appointments is legal in most places across the U.S., including Nevada and Miami-Dade County. But policymakers are beginning to crack down. $45,000 for DMV slots Nevada State Senator Fabian Doñate, a Democrat who represents the area around the Las Vegas Strip, recently introduced legislation to prohibit third-party sites from posting or selling restaurant reservations and public service appointments without consent from the organization that created the event. Doñate said appointment reselling has made it difficult, and sometimes near impossible, for people in the major Nevada city to find available time slots to go to the DMV to receive essential services. In an analysis conducted in February, his office found that resellers could be generating between $45,406 and $47,488 each year from rebooking DMV appointments, if one out of every 20 people who visited their site bought one. 'When reservations are booked and no one uses them, it makes it harder for everyone else to get appointments,' said Doñate. 'These are things that should be free.' He expects his legislation to pass in the coming weeks and could be signed into law by mid-May. But what about the warning from Florida officials? The Miami-Dade County Commission is also reviewing an ordinance that would criminalize the resale of DMV appointments. The law would make it illegal to sell or post public appointments without written consent from the tax collector's office. Violators would face fines of up to $500 or 60 days in jail. The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading last week and could be approved after its second reading on April 1. More: Did you receive a text about unpaid road toll bills? It could be a scam: What to know Other communities and states have faced similar problems with resellers trying to make money off of people who need to secure appointments for some of their most important documents. The Hillsborough County Tax Collectors office, which oversees the area around Tampa, Florida, changed its appointment scheduling system to enhance verification and only allow for one reservation per email address in 2023 after it found scammers were bulk booking driver's license appointments. And Colorado's Attorney General's Office launched an investigation in 2016 after it found people were booking and reselling DMV appointments for between $50 and $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who the state had allowed to apply for drivers' licenses. Real ID deadline approaches These latest appointment reselling scams come as people across the country scramble to renew their drivers' licenses before Real ID requirements take effect on May 7. By the deadline, all U.S. citizens and permanent residents over age 18 will need to have a government-issued ID with a star in the upper right-hand corner to travel domestically. The symbol shows the ID meets the "minimum-security standards" set by the Real ID Act of 2005. DMV locations from North Carolina to Nevada have experienced long wait times and appointment back-ups in the lead-up to the deadline, which has been pushed back several times over the years. The original deadline was slated for 2008 but state compliance issues and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed implementation. In South Florida, some people have camped on the concrete sidewalks outside DMV offices to ensure they can get an appointment, according to local TV station WSVN. The Miami-Dade Tax Collector's office said in a statement last week that the reselling practices have exacerbated the problem ahead of Real ID deadlines by creating 'false demand' and 'unnecessary barriers,' that have made it difficult for residents to access appointments.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illegal marijuana taking a big bite out of Nevada tax revenue, school funding
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The illicit market for cannabis in Nevada has grown to a $242 million business, taking a bite out of the state's effort to profit from the legalization of marijuana. During a wide-ranging presentation to the Nevada Legislature on Tuesday, the state's Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) noted declining revenues, a national trend that followed an initial surge in cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taxable sales have fallen from $965 million in fiscal year 2022 to just over $829 million in fiscal 2024. That means tax money for schools is also on the decline. Taxes fell by about $32 million over that same period, a drop of about 21%. Lawmakers wanted to know more about illegal sales and what is being done to shut them down. 'It's in the open. I mean its deliveries are in the open, the advertising is in the open. What has to happen to shut that down?' Republican Sen. John Steinbeck, who represents the northwest Las Vegas valley. 'It's definitely out of control.' CCB Executive Director James Humm and his staff said the enforcement falls under several state agencies. When legal marijuana is growing, it's under the Department of Agriculture. As a consumable, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services oversees regulation. There are also business licensing regulators involved. 'We have also heard complaints of delivery to the Strip properties, to the hotels and casinos where licensees are not able to deliver. I feel like that is a big competitor,' Kara Cronkhite, CCB's chief of health and safety, told the Nevada Legislature's Senate Committee on Revenue and Economic Development. 'And additionally, high-potency CBD products that have THC in them, hemp-derived products that are extremely potent are also readily available online and in smoke shops and other types of facilities around town,' Cronkhite said. Humm cited the growing presence of intoxicating hemp products, synthetics, and delta-8 THC, which are showing up for sale in smoke shops and gas stations. Democratic Sen. Fabian Doñate asked if the board needed to be given authority to go after illegal operations. 'Happy to contemplate that,' Humm said, but there is no legislation this session that would change that aspect of enforcement. Doñate also pressed CCB officials on what they could do to increase sales, but the board is just following laws set up under previous legislation. Some of the avenues for restaurants, spa businesses and events are allowed, but there are currently only two consumption lounges licensed by the state in Clark County. Laws currently prohibit retail sale of cannabis products except in licensed dispensaries or lounges. Consumption in public is prohibited, but public use outdoors is widespread. Doñate asked about legalizing it at events, and CCB staff explained that would only be legal at the actual site of a lounge. But Doñate had bigger ideas, hinting that the Electric Daisy Carnival might present an opportunity. That would require the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to be a licensed retailer. 'I would like to talk offline on how we could fix that,' Doñate said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
