After rejecting a Texas Department of Public Safety proposal to close dozens of driver's license offices, state lawmakers will likely give the issue top priority next session.
State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, says only one license office was ever in real danger of closing, but the real question is why DPS proposed the closures in the first place.
“DPS took the money for about 200 slots and used it somewhere else, so they have been understaffed on purpose,” says Hall, who sits on the Sunset Advisory Commission.
Emails seeking comment from DPS were not returned.
One solution being floated is transferring driver's license offices to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
“The DMV is just another state agency, and that in itself doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling that the job will be done right just by moving it to another agency,” says Hall.
“If it comes to an agency that has personnel that are running it and would like to have it and like to do a good job, as opposed to what we have in DPS where it's obvious they don't like the work and don't want to do a good job, it certainly could make a difference.”
Hall says time is of the essence, and he wants it fixed by the end of next session.