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DMV tells Senate panel $55 million modernization cut wait times and enabled new online services
Summary
Department of Motor Vehicles officials told the Senate Transportation Committee that a roughly $55 million core modernization, completed in November, has shortened in‑office transaction times, enabled early‑renewal processing and produced new dealer and municipal digital services.
Andrew Collier, Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the Senate Committee on Transportation on March 31 that the DMV’s core modernization project — about $55 million — was completed in November and delivered on time and under budget.
“We came in on time and under budget,” Collier said, crediting the contractor and the legislature for funding the work. He said modernization has changed customer experience metrics and internal operations: appointments now typically allow a customer to be “in and out of our office within 10 to 15 minutes on a transaction,” and staff have shortened transaction times across multiple branches.
The modernization also enabled a statutory change the department implemented last year: early renewal of credentials, which Collier described as having been processed manually until November and then integrated into the new system. Committee members explored who used the early‑renewal option; Collier said many were seasonal residents who travel south for the winter, and that the uptake represented a “positive unintended consequence.” He cautioned that the department did not have complete motive data for every renewal request.
Collier also described operational fixes driven by employee feedback gathered through a new anonymous suggestion channel launched in January. One example he gave was a call‑center workflow change: when the department’s process unit returned paperwork for correction, those documents were not previously scanned, leaving call‑center staff without the paperwork when constituents phoned. Collier said the new workflow will scan those documents into the system so call‑center staff have visibility and can help callers immediately.
The commissioner urged the committee to continue to amplify the modernization gains and said the department will be working with the legislature as it moves into detailed review of a miscellaneous motor vehicle bill. The committee adjourned with plans to review the bill section by section and to call agency staff back for additional testimony.
The committee heard related questions about Real ID and non‑Real ID categories (the department said it handles both) and about a paused temporary‑plate (“paper plates”) program; Collier said that program remains paused while system changes are prioritized.
