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Committee hears bill to let DOR contract to keep rural license offices open
Summary
Sen. Sandy Crawford told the Commerce Committee that Senate Bill 1020 would let the Department of Revenue contract without rebidding when rural license offices receive no qualifying bids, a change proponents say would speed reopenings and reduce repeated rebids; Director Trish Vincent testified in support and said transparency would be preserved.
Senator Sandy Crawford (R., Dist. 28) introduced Senate Bill 1020 on the Commerce Committee floor, saying the measure would let the Missouri Department of Revenue enter into a contract for a license office without rebidding if no qualifying proposals are received during the initial procurement process. "In the rural areas, we often fail to attract bidders and this leaves the Department of Revenue with two options: rebid the contract or permanently close the office," Crawford said.
Trish Vincent, director of revenue, told the committee the department has rebid some offices multiple times and that allowing a direct contract in those circumstances would help keep offices operating. "If nobody bids on it, then that would allow the department to reach out to an organization and then send them the contract," Vincent said, adding the department would still use the RFP process first and would not return to any patronage-type selection.
Committee members asked whether online services could replace in-person offices and pressed the department on how its alternative contracting would maintain transparency. Vincent said some services are available online but not all transactions and identity verifications can be completed remotely yet; she called the proposal a practical way to preserve local access in communities where an agent cannot be found.
No witnesses registered formal opposition at the hearing, and the committee received several supportive remarks from local officials and the department. Chairman Castillo closed the SB 1020 hearing and moved immediately into the public hearing for House Bill 3093.
The committee did not take a vote on SB 1020 during the hearing; staff invited parties to supply more operational details if requested. The immediate next procedural step is the committee’s deliberation and scheduling of any markup or executive action.
