COUNTY ISSUANCE OF MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES STUDY COMMITTEE

October 24, 1997 - Sixth 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. Florida Driver's License Issuance.
3. Department of Transportation Video Presentation.
4. Miscellaneous Committee Business.
5. Subcommittee Reports.
6. Future Meetings.
7. Documents on File With the Legislative Service Bureau.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

1. Administrative Matters.

Call to Order. Chairperson Van Meter called the meeting to order at 10:08 a.m. A sign-in sheet was circulated, which is on file with the Legislative Service Bureau.

Approval of Minutes. Nancy Richardson moved, and Mary Kay Williams seconded, that the minutes be approved as accepted. The motion passed unanimously.

Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 1:59 p.m.

2. Florida Driver's License Issuance.

Overview. Bob Hagey introduced Paul Blackburn from the Tax Collector's Office of Leon County, Florida, and Tommy Edwards from the Florida Division of Driver's Licenses.

Florida Driver's License Division. Tommy Edwards explained that the Florida Driver's License Division is part of the Florida Office of Public Safety. The Division generates $96 million in yearly revenue. Licenses in Florida are digitized, issued both at the point-of-issuance and via a centralized location. The Division serves between 5 and 6 million customers per year through a network of state and third-party offices. There are currently 140 driver's license offices in Florida.

History. Issuance of driver's licenses began in Florida in 1939 through county judges. In 1941, the Motor Vehicle Commission was formed, and the first licensing exams were given. In 1961, licensing information was placed on a computerized system.

In 1984, third-party issuance began, through motorcycle safety courses. In 1985, school-based driver's education instruction was added to this third-party delivery network.

Rural service delivery became a problem a few years ago, when there was a legislative mandate to serve all counties, but not enough funding to do so adequately. At that time, there were 180 offices. The department began to experiment with different levels of service. Now, most offices are open four days a week, 10 hours a day. In metro areas, some offices have Saturday hours and other expanded hours.

Downsizing. In 1992, Florida experienced government downsizing. The driver's license budget was cut by $192 million. Forty-three full-time employment positions (FTEs) were eliminated. Third-party commercial driver's license (CDL) issuance was initiated.

In 1995, the legislature cut $5 million from the budget, and eliminated 200 FTEs. Florida also experienced another influx of refugees, which added to the workload pressures of the Division. The Division was reorganized at this time, from nine layers of management to five. Some leases were renegotiated, and others were modified. Some offices were closed, and others were combined. At this time, a pilot program in Leon County was initiated for the issuance of driver's licenses by county treasurers. At that time, there was no additional fee authorized by statute that could be charged by treasurers for issuing a license. The statute now authorizes a "convenience" fee of $5.25 that treasurers may charge for licenses issued at county treasurers offices. This is a fee that is not paid by persons obtaining their license at a state facility.

Current County Issuance. Sixteen counties now offer licenses in 19 locations. In deciding whether to add a particular county as a third-party issuer of licenses, the Division considers where service needs improvement, such as counties where state offices are closed or are going to be closed, counties with mobile units or other limitations on service, and counties where there are service delivery problems, such as a high percentage of new residents.

Benefits. The benefits of county issuance of driver's licenses in Florida have been many. The wait time to obtain a license in Florida is now comparable to retail figures for wait time, and that expansion of service has been achieved at no cost to the state. Previously, the wait for service has at times exceeded eight hours. The consumer is able to receive one-stop shopping, obtaining licensing and titling services in one location. During the first year of county issuance, the state achieved a $138,000 savings; during the third year, the savings is projected to be $572,000 for the state.

Leon County Issuance. Paul Blackburn, an employee of Leon County Tax Collector's Office, began by noting that he was formerly a driver's license examiner for the state of Florida. He headed the pilot program in Leon County on behalf of the state, and when the statute was changed to authorize the "convenience" fee, he stayed with the county. In general, Florida customers do not mind paying the additional fee for service at a county office. Floridians already pay a convenience fee for renewing their licenses by phone, for example. The geography of the state makes travel inconvenient in many areas, making the convenience fee acceptable to many who would otherwise have to travel much farther.

Training county employees to do more work took great effort. But Leon County made a profit of $81,000 in its first year of issuance.

Member Questions.

• Extent of County Issuance. Nancy Richardson asked what percentage of total issuance is done by third-party issuers. Because of the various forms of third-party issuance (motorcycles, driver's education, CDLs, county treasurers), however, the figures are not calculated in that manner. Florida issues 6 million driver's licenses every year, on average. Twelve million drivers are on file in Florida. Only a small percentage of this number has been issued through county offices so far.
• Administrative Changes. Terry Dillinger asked what administrative changes were made in the Division to accommodate the issuance of licenses by counties. Because the program mirrored the CDL and motorcycle license issuance programs, however, no changes in supervision were necessary. No staffing changes were needed, either, because the Division was already understaffed in the field, and no treasurer staff replaced state employees.
• Quality Control. Darren Van Helden asked about the emphasis on safety in the supervision and training of county staff. The contract between the state and each participating county addresses those issues, and there is a stringent audit process. Treasurers do refuse to issue licenses to some persons, and refer those people to state offices. County employees are trained and certified by the state.
• Quality Compliance. Wayne Walter asked what happens if a county fails to meet its requirements under the contract. The contract gives the county 30 days to correct the problem, prior to termination. The statute gives the Division the flexibility to deal with the issue. There is no recourse for termination, except to seek recertification.
• Site Selection. Sharon Winchell asked about the implementation process. Because license price is determined on a per-license basis, in response to a request for bids to the state, the state engages in a cost-benefit analysis in determining how many and which sites will issue licenses. So far, this discretion has been exercised by the division.
• Fee Amount. Dr. Mark Edelman asked how the amount of the convenience fee was set. It was set by legislation.
• Implementation. Nancy Richardson asked about tax collectors in Florida. They are elected, and must request to offer issuance as a service to their constituents. There is some initial short-term staffing by state employees in some county offices which choose to offer licensing services, and continuing administrative support and monitoring are also supplied by the state.
• Co-location. Wayne Walter asked whether there is both state and county issuance in some counties, with the convenience fee charged by the county. In some counties, there are also state driver's license offices. Warren Jenkins asked about the location of particular offices. Tallahassee has three county sites and one state office.
• State Responsibility. Peggy Smalley asked if the Division was still mandated to serve all counties. That mandate was removed by the legislature in 1995. However, there are no counties that presently have no service. The state would not necessarily offer service in a county if the third-party issuance contract for services in that county was terminated by the state.
• Approval of County. Darren Van Helden asked how the state makes the decision to allow a county to issue licenses. The state emphasizes no one factor. The state prepares an information packet for each interested county that analyzes the cost data for that particular county.
• Local Decision Making. Wayne Walter asked whether there had been any concern that the tax collector would bend the rules in issuing licenses, because of the possibility of becoming unpopular with voters if licenses were refused. So far, county offices have been selective about who issues licenses, precisely because the treasurer is elected and is responsible to voters.
• Rural/Urban Mix. Dr. Mark Edelman asked about the mix of urban and rural counties involved in issuing. Sixteen counties issue licenses; six are rural counties where state facilities are closed, and the rest are a combination of urban and rural, though largely urban. Most county offices have not added staff in order to issue licenses.
• Renewal Periods. Pat Milligan asked about the renewal periods for licenses in Florida. There are four-year and six-year renewal cycles. Mr. Milligan also asked whether county issuance was encouraged in Florida. It is encouraged, except in certain locations where the cost is not justified.
• Intent. Darren Van Helden asked what the original intent was in beginning county issuance. The intent was to improve service, wherever it was needed, whether that be in rural or urban areas.
• Net Cost. Terry Dillinger asked if there is a net program cost. The figure has not been calculated, but could be. There was no added cost at the Division level; the division is operating with the same budget that it had eight years ago. The added cost has been shifted to the public in the form of the convenience fee. It is considered a "convenience" fee even if the nearest state office is 100 miles away.
• Co-location -- Fees. Warren Jenkins asked if people will pay the convenience fee even in cities where there is a state office. The public does pay the added fees in some cities, to avoid traffic. Mr. Jenkins also asked about the training. An examiner is moved into the county office for up to three months, depending upon the number of people to be trained.
• Service Level. Don Breniman asked who determines the level of service offered in the county office. The county determines the level of service from among several options offered. Nancy Richardson asked if the six rural counties issuing licenses are full-service. They do not necessarily choose to offer the full range of services. That is one of the issues the state reviews in deciding whether to permit a particular county to issue licenses: what services are needed, what services the county is willing to offer, and the related cost issues.
• Travel Time. Sharon Winchell asked how far someone would have to go to get full service. The issue is one of time involved to travel; a half-day access is not uncommon in some areas. Ms. Winchell also asked about ongoing communication between the state and counties. The counties are included in all training and other activities that state driver's license employees are offered. Counties have the same data access that state examiners have.
• Other Issuance Sites. Bob Hagey asked about service that was offered through drug stores. Such service was attempted for a time, but it did not work well because of problems associated with limited staffing (no backup for breaks, illnesses, etc.).
• Wait Time. Chris Van Meter asked about the wait time. A customer waits approximately 15 minutes before receiving service.

Chairperson Van Meter thanked the Floridians for their presentation.

3. Department of Transportation Video Presentation.

Nancy Richardson presented a videotape which summarized a day of activities by a DOT itinerant team.

4. Miscellaneous Committee Business.

· Mike Kuehn, Legislative Service Bureau, reported on the survey of DOT and county issuance customers being conducted. He had spoken to Dr. Padgitt, and that there was approximately a 50 percent response rate on the customer survey so far. The survey will be completed by November 1.

· Dave Reynolds, Legislative Fiscal Bureau, reported on the Preliminary Cost Analysis being conducted by the Cost Subcommittee.

· A letter from the federal Commercial Driver's License Certification Program was noted. Originally, the office had been neutral on the county issuance issue, but now expressed its position against expansion of the current program.

· Minority reports must be delivered to LSB by December 15 for inclusion in the final report of the committee.

5. Subcommittee Reports.

Quality Subcommittee. Sharon Winchell, Chairperson of the Subcommittee, discussed the development of the scenarios to be used by the Cost Committee in developing comparative cost data.

Cost Subcommittee. Warren Jenkins reported that the Subcommittee had applied cost data figures to the scenarios presented by the Quality Subcommittee, and had prepared a preliminary draft of a cost analysis. The cost of the digitized license equipment is the biggest factor, and could influence the cost of a particular scenario greatly.

Technology Subcommittee. Terry Dillinger reported that the Technology Sub-committee had met that morning, and would be preparing their final report soon.

6. Future Meetings.

The Committee will next meet on November 12, and will prepare its final recommendations.

7. Documents on File With the Legislative Service Bureau.

Various documents provided by the Florida Division of Licensing (not handed out to members or other persons).

OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:

| Charge | Members | Staff | Final Report |

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