Nevada driving records no longer available to news media

For years, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has provided area journalists with driving histories and registrations as allowed under state law.

But DMV Director Tonya Laney has reversed course, despite no changes in state or federal law, banning the Las Vegas Review-Journal from obtaining information key to investigations that expose public safety risks and government waste.

The denial came in the middle of Sunshine Week, an annual event that highlights the “importance of open records and open government.”

Review-Journal Chief Legal Officer Ben Lipman said there is no reason to now hide the records.

“Federal law allows states to provide driver’s license information if the state’s laws allow for it,” he said. “Nevada law specifically allows, in fact, requires, the DMV to provide the information under a number of circumstances, including to the news media for reporting purposes.”

Without the information, the Review-Journal would not have been able to publish recent high-profile stories.

In 2022, the Review-Journal exposed how traffic tickets were often reduced to nonmoving violations, allowing some drivers with multiple offenses to keep their licenses and cause fatal crashes.

The following year, the news organization also used DMV registrations to expose public officials buying luxury cars with taxpayer-funded car allowances.

State law is clear: Nevada Revised Statutes 481.063 (h) allows the DMV to release the information to “a reporter or editorial employee who is employed by or affiliated with any newspaper, press association or commercially operated, federally licensed radio or television station for a journalistic purpose.”

But Laney is using a federal law to say the documents are no longer available.

Records delays

On Jan. 16, the Review-Journal asked for a database of driver’s license records. The agency previously had released a database of Driver Authorization Cards, which are provided to people who can’t demonstrate legal residency in the United States.

For two months, the agency deliberated, which Lipman said was in itself a violation of state law.

“We believe the delay is unjustified and violates the Nevada Public Records Act,” Lipman wrote to the DMV on Feb. 28. “In addition, the law does not allow for any delay if the request is going to be denied. It only allows for delay if the records are going to be produced, and, even in that instance, only allows delay for limited time and limited reasons.”

On March 18, the DMV denied the request, saying federal law prohibits the release, despite an exemption in the federal statute for states to allow releasing the information when it comes to public safety.

The “Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2721, … prohibits state departments of motor vehicles from disclosing personal information obtained in connection with state motor vehicle records,” the agency staff wrote. “The DMV does not agree the ‘use specifically authorized by state law’ (is an) exception at 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(14) (that) applies to media requests, as such requests are not ‘related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.’”

Laney refused to give an interview but issued a statement.

“We take the data security of Nevada citizens very seriously,” the statement said. “In this case, the request was at our discretion, and thanks to a heavy awareness of security, and in consultation with our extremely knowledgeable data security team within our agency, we ultimately determined that any journalistic material that could be prepared does not outweigh the integrity of our agency to protect our citizens that hold identification or driver license’s in the state of Nevada.”

Gov. Joe Lombardo appointed Laney in March 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile. The governor’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Ray, did not respond to an email requesting comment on the withholding of DMV records.

The “What Are They Hiding?” column was created to educate Nevadans about transparency laws, inform readers about Review-Journal coverage being stymied by bureaucracies and shame public officials into being open with the hardworking people who pay all of government’s bills. Were you wrongly denied access to public records? Share your story with us at whataretheyhiding@reviewjournal.com.

Contact Arthur Kane at akane@reviewjournal.com and follow @ArthurMKane on Twitter. Kane is editor of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.