COUNTY ISSUANCE OF MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES STUDY COMMITTEE

August 13, 1997 - Third Meeting of 1997

MEMBERS PRESENT

MEETING IN BRIEF

Minutes prepared by Jan Simmons, Legal Counsel
Organization staffing provided by Mike Kuehn, Legal Counsel

1. Administrative Matters.
2. Committee Discussion and Action.
3. Future Meetings.
4. Future Subcommittee Meetings.
5. Materials on File With the Legislative Service Bureau.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

1. Administrative Matters.

Call to Order. Chairperson Van Meter called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. The minutes were distributed, and all persons present signed an attendance sheet, which is on file with the Legislative Service Bureau as are documents distributed at the meeting.

Approval of Minutes With Corrections. Wayne Walter's named was mistakenly spelled "Walker" on page 2. A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as corrected.

Opening Remarks. Chairperson Van Meter welcomed Dr. Edelman as the newest member of the Committee, serving as the representative of the County Finance Committee. Dr. Edelman will be serving as a member of the Cost Subcommittee. Dr. Edelman is a professor of economics and extension economist at Iowa State University.

Adjournment. The Committee recessed at 2:40 p.m., to permit the Quality Subcommittee to meet. The Committee reconvened at 3:02 p.m., and immediately adjourned upon motion.

2. Committee Discussion and Action

a. Consultant Testimony. At the request of Chairperson Van Meter, Mike Kuehn of the Legislative Service Bureau reported on his communication with Dave Snodgrass, an independent consultant specializing in driver's license technology. It was the Committee's understanding at the last meeting that Mr. Snodgrass had agreed to waive his consultant's fee and would testify before the Committee if his travel expenses were paid. Accordingly, the Committee authorized an expenditure of up to $1,000 for Mr. Snodgrass' travel. However, Mr. Snodgrass indicated to the Legislative Service Bureau that he had not agreed to waive completely his consultant fee. A motion was made and seconded that the authorized expenditure for Mr. Snodgrass' appearance before the Committee on September 4 be raised to $1,250 for his combined expenses and consultant fee. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Kuehn will send Mr. Snodgrass the list of issues, prepared by the Technology Subcommittee, which the Committee will expect to be included within Mr. Snodgrass' testimony.

b. Public Hearings. Chairperson Van Meter indicated to the Committee that, upon further reflection and discussion with Committee staff following the last meeting, she wished to have the Committee revisit the decision to conduct public hearings via the ICN, because of a concern that the public might not attend an electronic hearing on an issue that is not widely known or understood. She asked the Committee whether a more traditional legislative hearing, involving testimony from interested constituencies, might be more appropriate for this issue. The Committee did not completely agree that the public would not attend an ICN hearing. Nancy Richardson indicated that DOT's experience with electronic hearings on the Iowa in Motion project was very positive in terms of attendance. The Committee also discussed the types of interest groups which might be interested in offering testimony on this subject. After a lengthy discussion of related issues, the Committee moved, seconded, and unanimously voted to rescind its authorization at the last meeting for $200 for an ICN hearing. A motion was subsequently made, and seconded, to conduct two public hearings: the first in one of the six counties presently authorized to issue driver's licenses and the other in one of the counties that will be surveyed by the Quality Subcommittee. This motion unanimously passed. The Committee also agreed to hear testimony from interest groups at the next meeting of the Committee on September 4. The interest groups will be invited to participate from among a list of interested groups identified by Committee staff and members as having constituencies interested in the issue.

c. Subcommittee Reports.

• Cost Subcommittee. Warren Jenkins, Subcommittee Chairperson, reported that the Time Survey of driver's license activities in the county offices was complete, and the compiled data would be presented at the next Committee meeting.
• Quality Subcommittee. Sharon Winchell, Subcommittee Chairperson, reported that the preliminary draft of the Customer Survey had been completed, and should be ready to be mailed prior to the next Committee meeting. The survey will be mailed to 500 persons in the six county-issuance counties and 500 persons in six counties served by DOT licensing teams.

d. Discussion of Issues Remaining for Resolution by the Committee. Chairperson Van Meter distributed a list of potential issues that the Committee should consider, and invited members to make additions to the list. The Committee reviewed each item on the list, and discussed several issues and considered whether one of the subcommittees was addressing the issue, or whether it was an issue which needed to be resolved by the Committee as a whole, such as the overarching public policy concerns. Committee members proposed adding the consideration by the Quality Subcommittee of quality/safety concerns presented by the respective systems, as well as the possibility of comparison of the current alternatives to systems in operation in other states by the full Committee. In addition, a suggestion was made to address the eventual impact on DOT staffing levels, according to the recommendation that the Committee makes.

e. AAMVA Report. At the last Committee meeting, the Committee decided to postpone scheduling testimony from any other states regarding their method of driver's license issuance, pending the Committee's receipt of the report from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Examiners (AAMVA), detailing the systems of issuance currently in use across the United States. It is anticipated that the AAMVA report should be received prior to the next meeting, and it will be faxed to Committee members upon receipt.

3. Future Meetings.

The next meeting of the Committee will be on September 4, 1997, at 9 a.m., in Room 1 of the Capitol. The starting time was moved up to accommodate Mr. Snodgrass' testimony in the morning and the testimony of interest groups to occur after a working lunch and Committee meeting.

The Committee will also meet on September 19, at 10 a.m. in Room 1 of the Capitol.

4. Future Subcommittee Meetings.

The following Subcommittee meetings are presently scheduled:

• Cost Subcommittee: August 29, 1997 - 10:00 a.m. Driver's Services Conference Room, Park Fair Mall.
• Quality Subcommittee: September 4, 1997, upon adjournment of the full Committee meeting.

5. Materials on File With the Legislative Service Bureau.

• Issues for consideration by the Committee, distributed by Chairperson Van Meter.

OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:

| Charge | Members | Staff | Final Report |

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