Lawmakers are looking at reforms to fix a problem with the state’s driver’s license bureaus that are causing constituents to light up their phones.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on January 13 that his vision for the Driver Service Bureau that handles driver’s licenses is to expand its digital footprint while reducing its physical footprint.
The shortest bill active right now in the Legislature might be the most helpful to Mississippi citizens.
House Bill 10, authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, would allow an expired driver’s license to be renewed online regardless of how much time has transpired after the expiration date of the license.
“The purpose of HB 10 is to streamline the DMV process to make it more efficient and accessible for the citizens of Mississippi,” Gunn told the Northside Sun. “This includes reducing and hopefully eliminating the wait times.”
Gunn’s bill could be the leading edge in a multi-front battle to reduce wait times at the state’s driver’s license examination stations.
The problem has become worse in the last few years. A report issued last year by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) says that wait times at driver’s license bureaus run by the state Department of Public Safety have tripled from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019.
Tindell said the plan is to have larger, more regional stations and virtual examiners that could start with a pilot program. His goal is to have a computer in every county courthouse so that those without internet access could access an operator from a call center.
Having larger, regional centers, Tindell says, would ensure that those who need direct help can receive it.
“That way, if someone needs to come in, there will be plenty of opportunities and lines in which they can be serviced in a quick, efficient manner,” Tindell said.
Last year, the Legislature removed the Mississippi Highway Patrol from its responsibility of supervising the Driver Service Bureau. He said the DPS has 28 troopers assigned to the bureau and putting them back on the road or in other positions will represent a savings for taxpayers since regular state employees earn less in fringe benefits than troopers.
The upfront cost on this reorganization would cost taxpayers an additional $5 million. Additional cloud storage for DPS related to driver’s licenses will cost taxpayers $1.5 million in added costs.
Lawmakers also passed a Mobile ID bill, which allows a citizen to have their driver’s license on their mobile device in a secure form.
Tindell said the DPS is working on the system with a contractor, Idemia. The French company has received $59 million for its work on the new computer system required by the federal REAL ID Act passed in 2005 after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The DPS says the new software will require a payment to Idemia of $2 million by next October and $750,000 annually in maintenance fees, which will be paid by fees.
The mobile ID could allow a trooper to access the ID if a Bluetooth connection is authorized by a suspect to give the trooper the ability to access the driver’s information in the process of a traffic stop. Tindell also said it would speed the license renewal process since it would allow a user to take their own photo with their phone.
Tindell, a former state senator and judge, told the subcommittee that the DPS is working on creating a new management structure for the division with a new director and regional directors and station chiefs answering to division directors.
The commissioner also said Mississippi is one of three states that still issues driver’s licenses to customers at the facility rather than issuing them a receipt or cardstock temporary license and having the new license mailed to their home. He said doing away with this practice would enhance security and save taxpayers money.
An appointment system, Tindell says, has helped alleviate some of the longer wait times at the Driver Service Bureau.
