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Harris County Leads Texas in Number of Vehicle Registrations Renewed Online

More registrants this year already than all of last year.

HOUSTON -- During the first three months of 2002, nearly 6,000 Harris County residents renewed their vehicle registrations online -- surpassing the total of all online renewals for the entire year of 2001.

County officials said the number is 30 percent of the total online vehicle registration renewals in Texas during the first quarter of 2002. Harris County is America's third-largest county and home to Houston, the nation's fourth most-populous city.

"The fact that thousands of Houston-area residents are going online - proves that electronic government does work in the 21st century in Harris County," said Paul Bettencourt, the county's tax collector.

"Due to the leadership of Harris County's Tax Assessor-Collector's office for the use of technology in government service, Harris County became the first county in Texas to offer vehicle registration renewal over the Internet in 2000," said Phil Barrett, director of TexasOnline. "Partnered with TexasOnline, Harris County leads the state in the number of monthly online renewals."

There have been a total number of 33,658 IVRR transactions in Texas since the inception of TexasOnline.

From when the service first debuted in September 2000, the total number of Internet vehicle registration renewals in Harris County is 12,325 -- 37 percent of the statewide total.

Vehicle owners in the county have paid nearly three-quarters of a million dollars online for registration renewals since the Internet payment method began.

Bettencourt said the Harris County Tax Office has handled over 14,000 customer transactions this year through its electronic-government services, including online registration renewals and property-tax payments.

He also said the greatest numbers of renewals online are made when the brick and mortar Tax Office locations are closed at night and on weekends.