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Senator Novak proposes option for weekly county DMV service and aligns law to allow 15-year-old licenses
Summary
Sen. Sarah Novak testified for Senate Bill 462 to give Montana counties the option of one day a week of local DMV service and to change statute so 15-year-olds may obtain a driver’s license under the state's existing graduated licensing rules; the committee later tabled the bill after a tied roll-call vote.
Sen. Sarah Novak, D-Anaconda, told the committee that Senate Bill 462 would give each of Montana's 56 counties the option to host at least one day a week of Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) services and would revise Montana Code Annotated so the statutory driving age matches current practice that allows some 15-year-olds to obtain licenses under graduated licensing rules.
Novak said the bill is intended to ensure rural counties are not "forgotten" when state services are scheduled, while avoiding an unfunded mandate: "I just want the counties and the state to collaborate together," she said. She told the committee she seeks alignment between policy and statute: "I just think it's really really important that as a state whatever our policies and procedures are really should align with Montana Code Annotated."
The bill would (1) give counties the option to provide at least one day a week of DMV service, and (2) change statutory language that currently sets the non-driver's-ed licensing age at 16 so it matches the longer-standing emergency rule and DMV practice that allow some 15-year-olds to access testing under the graduated driver's license (GDL) framework. Novak described the GDL safeguards: a learner permit must be held a minimum of six months, a new driver must log 50 hours of supervised driving (with at least 10 at night), and certain infractions restart the learner period. She said the permit is currently valid for one year and the staggered steps lead to a full unrestricted license after the final step or when the person turns 18.
Laurie Bakri, Motor Vehicle Division administrator, said the division supports the policy goal but warned of resource limits and costs to expand exam stations: "We just don't have the resources to fund that," she said, and added there are nine counties without an exam station, naming Anaconda as one example. Bakri told the committee there is a fiscal note on the topic and estimated costs "over half a million dollars." Charlie Brown, representing the Montana Traffic Ed Association, said his group is "very soft" in opposition to lowering the age and worries the change could put younger drivers on the road sooner without drivers education.
Committee members asked whether the 15-year practice originated as a COVID hardship rule. Bakri said a hardship pathway was created during the pandemic when students could not get into driver's education programs and that the state has continued permitting 15-year-olds in hardship situations. Novak said she wants statute to reflect that practice rather than leave it only to emergency policy.
The committee later considered a motion on SB 462. A roll-call produced a 4-4 tie, after which the committee tabled the bill without further action. The fiscal note Novak said she had not yet seen remained an open item for review.
Ending: Novak asked the committee for a due pass and offered to coordinate with other legislators on overlapping bills if the committee prefers to reconcile language before floor action.
