KYTC seeks $5 million to sustain driver's license staffing and $5 million for modernization transition

Deputy Secretary Jeremy Slinker told the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation that the Department of Vehicle Regulation has reduced long customer wait times after investments in equipment and temporary staff and that sustaining those gains requires a current-year appropriation of $5,035,600 to retain temporary contract workers through the remainder of the fiscal year.

Slinker said the temporary staff and operational changes cut wait times and improved customer feedback, and he warned that without the requested funding the department would need to reduce some regional office operations. He attributed a surge in demand to multiple factors, including rule changes, a cohort of 15-year-olds newly entering licensing queues, increased vision testing that redirects customers from online renewals to in-person service, and Real ID enforcement timelines. He said roughly 21,000 people initially entered a backlog and that monthly volumes surged by thousands at peak periods.

For the upcoming biennium, Slinker presented FY2027 and FY2028 requests totaling about $20,380,600 (FY27) and $19,000,800 (FY28) that include the $5,035,600 current-year appropriation, ongoing staffing plans to convert some contractor roles to state positions, hard card and postage cost increases, and funding to create positions for six new regional offices. Slinker also identified an estimated FY2027 cost of $5,000,000 to support operating and transition needs for a new driver's license modernization system, falling to $2,500,000 in FY2028 as legacy systems are phased out. He said bonds for the modernization have not yet been sold but the project is underway and agreements for work are in place.

Committee members asked about CDL testing sites and whether KYTC funding would reopen local testing locations; Slinker deferred operational testing decisions to the Kentucky State Police, which administers CDL testing. Members also questioned whether the department's requested increases were road fund-driven; cabinet witnesses confirmed the requests would be funded from anticipated road fund receipts, not new general fund appropriations.

The committee approved the meeting minutes by voice vote during the session and did not take an immediate funding vote on the vehicle regulation requests. Slinker said the agency will continue to provide follow-up information and is available for additional questions.