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Committee advances bill to modernize 1938 driver-services law; strips concealed-carry endorsement requirement
Summary
Commissioner Tyndall told the Senate Public Safety Committee that Senate Bill 2190 updates the Driver Services Act of 1938 for digital records, online appointments and mobile-ID notices. The committee adopted an amendment to remove a provision that would put concealed-carry endorsements on driver's licenses and voted the bill out as amended.
Commissioner Tyndall, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told the Senate Public Safety Committee that Senate Bill 2190 would modernize the Driver Services Act of 1938 and related statutes.
"Senate bill 2190 basically takes a look at the driver services act of, 1938," Commissioner Tyndall said, describing changes that replace archaic terms, update punctuation, remove an obsolete reference to the highway patrol as administrator and modernize record-keeping and notice procedures.
The bill removes the year "1938" from the statutory titles, deletes references to the highway patrol as the driver-services administrator, replaces older document-delivery methods with first-class mail and permits notice via the mobile identification app if a registrant has signed up for it. Tyndall said section 4 removes language tied to an old "wait anytime, wait anywhere" appointment system now superseded by online scheduling.
The measure also reviews the statute governing concealed-carry permits. Tyndall and several senators discussed paragraph 25, a provision that would add a concealed-carry endorsement to a driver's license. Tyndall said the permit and driver's-license expirations do not align — "the driver's license expire every 4 years, firearm permits expire every 5 years" — and some permit holders prefer a separate card rather than an endorsement.
Chairman (Senate Public Safety Committee) offered an amendment to strike paragraph 25; the committee approved the amendment by voice vote. The committee then voted to advance the bill as amended; the chairman announced, "The ayes have it."
Tyndall also used his committee appearance to give a status update on departmental operations. He said Capitol Police staffing has increased from about 75 officers a few years ago to "over a 150," with a goal to reach roughly 200 to 220 officers over time. Tyndall said the new CCID court opened last week with three judges assigned to hear misdemeanors and preliminary hearings. He said Capitol Police reported "north of 900 felony charges" in the CCID last year and that the department is expanding patrol districts and exploring a combined DPS academy.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; votes were taken by voice. The committee-approved amendment and the committee's title-submission vote were both announced passed by the chair.
The bill will proceed in the legislative process with the committee's strike of paragraph 25 included; other technical updates to punctuation, record-keeping language and notice delivery remain in the draft.
The measure and the accompanying operational updates focus on aligning the driver's-services code to current technology and on the department's staffing and court coordination efforts.
