New bill would stop DMV from making millions off auctioned cars without telling the owners

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State lawmakers have pushed forward legislation that would change a decades-old state law allowing the Department of Motor Vehicles to receive millions of dollars from auctioned cars without telling the owners.

State Sen. Kelly Seyarto at a Senate committee hearing on Oct. 7, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

The bill from Murrieta Republican Senator Kelly Seyarto directly follows CalMatters’ reporting, which revealed that the DMV collected more than $8 million from nearly 5,300 cars sold at auction from 2016 to late 2024, without having to notify the owners that their towed cars had been sold for a surplus.

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