Reinvention Of California’s Troubled DMV
Sacramento, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new “DMV Reinvention Strike Team” to oversee the overhaul of the state’s embattled Department of Motor Vehicles.
“By any metric, California DMV has been chronically mismanaged and failed in its fundamental mission to the state customers it serves and the state workers it employs,” relayed Governor Newsom.
In naming Marybel Batjer, who is currently the secretary of the State Government Operations Agency, to lead the team in the modernization and reinvention of the DMV, Newsom stated, “It’s time for a reinvention and I’m grateful to Secretary Batjer for agreeing to take on this tremendous responsibility on behalf of California taxpayers.” Newsom added that the focus will be on finding new department leadership and recommending reforms to improve service with an emphasis on transparency, worker performance, speed of service and overall consumer satisfaction as top priorities.
The DMV has been under fire for long lines and voter registration errors including an earlier story reported here involving issues impacting the Mother Lode during the midterm elections. The controversy prompted former Governor Jerry Brown to order the Department of Finance to conduct a state audit. In addition, today Governor Newsom ordered an accelerated review of the audits early findings within 30 days.
Batjer will retain the secretary job while taking on the new role of chairing the DMV team for six-months. No details were given related to the possible cost to modernize the agency.
