Newly created DMV to move customer service functions
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Serna said the move to create a separate agency doesn’t reflect negatively on TxDOT’s performance.
"This industry really warranted creating a new agency focused on servicing the motoring public," he said. Though HB 3097 takes effect Sept. 1, the transfer of powers and equipment from TxDOT to DMV is not set to happen until Nov. 1, when more than 600 employees will make the switch. All TxDOT employees involved in the transfer will retain jobs without having to reapply.
Personnel from four TxDOT divisions – including the Motor Vehicle Division, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division, the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority and sections of the Motor Carrier Division – will make the leap to DMV.
About 50 additional administrative positions, mostly within information technology and accounting, will be posted competitively, Serna said. The DMV executive director position will also be posted.
"The governor will appoint nine board members," Serna said, "and that board will select the executive director." The DMV board will also be required, per HB 3097, to hold quarterly meetings and establish advisory committees for three of its divisions.
The DMV is the first new state agency created by the legislature since the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), was created by the 78th Texas Legislature in 2003. By action of the 81st Legislature, the TRCC was allowed to sunset, thus abolishing the agency. It is currently in a wind-down period that ends Aug. 31, 2010.
According to HB 3097, a department independent of TxDOT administered motor vehicle registrations until the early 1990s, when the agencies merged. Many state departments and divisions have dissolved or merged with others over the years for cost-related reasons.
The DMV with its 670 to 700 employees will require an annual budget of more than $100 million, according to Serna.
"I think it’s safe to say $130 million," he said.
Proponents of the legislation creating the new agency note that separating the customer service functions of a department within TxDOT that serves Texas drivers will improve service to Texas drivers and allow the transportation department to focus on its top priority – the state’s transportation system.
