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Committee gives favorable report to HB 4011 to allow central issuance and an expedited fee for DMV cards
Summary
The Education and Public Works subcommittee favorably reported House Bill 4011, which permits the DMV to use central issuance for physical driver licenses and identification cards, creates a paper temporary certificate, and authorizes an expedited mailing fee to cover overnight production and shipping costs.
The Education and Public Works subcommittee gave a favorable report to House Bill 4011, a bill that authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to move to central issuance for physical driver's licenses and identification cards and establishes an expedited fee for customers who need faster production and mailing of hard cards.
Under HB 4011, the DMV would issue a paper temporary driver's certificate at the time of application and mail the official plastic card after identity and eligibility checks are completed at a central production facility. Committee members said that central issuance is already in use in more than 45 states and is intended to improve card security and reduce fraudulent issuance.
"We're going to be doing the checking to make sure you are who you are before you receive that driver's license," Madam Chair Lee said, describing the shift to pre-issuance identity verification. The committee also heard from staff that the temporary certificate will include the applicant's photo and the information normally present on the front of the card; the Election Commission letter on file confirms those temporary certificates can be used for voting while the permanent card is in the mail.
The bill authorizes an expedited fee to cover overnight production and mailing for customers who need a card immediately; the committee discussed an example cost of $90 for overnight shipping in addition to the standard license fee (the transcript cites the expedited fee as roughly $90 plus a $25 license fee). Committee members emphasized that the expedited fee is intended to reimburse mailing costs and that the DMV will reconcile costs with the contract vendor on a monthly basis.
Committee action: Representative Duncan moved the favorable report; the committee approved HB 4011 by voice/recorded vote. The transcript records a favorable report "on a vote of 7 ayes and 1 who is absent from voting," with named ayes including Representative Duncan, Representative Frank, Representative Grant, Representative Rivers, Chairman Gillum and Chair Lady Erickson. Representative Deepal was noted as not currently present for the vote.
Operational context: Staff described central issuance as a security practice used by most states and federal agencies. The DMV explained the central issuance facility is located out of state; the transcript references a production facility in Virginia. Lawmakers and staff discussed the DMV's legacy computer system ("Phoenix system," described in the transcript as reliant on COBOL) as a limitation for more advanced customer-facing services (for example, full mobile licensing or remote renewals) and said system replacement remains a longer-term priority.
Next steps: The bill received a favorable report and will proceed through committee processes. Committee members requested continued work with DMV staff and the vendor to monitor costs and the expedited fee during implementation.
