Publication: The Sacramento Bee
Millions of Californians have yet to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles for a driver’s license that will soon be required if they want to board airplanes or enter other federal facilities, including prisons and military bases, without a passport.
To help the DMV promote the federally mandated Real ID program and navigate ongoing implementation challenges, state lawmakers approved a budget on Thursday that will boost the department’s budget by more than $242 million.
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Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, helped draft the state’s nearly $215 billion budget that is on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom. While Ting said in April that the DMV wouldn’t know what to do with more resources until it got a permanent leaders, Ting voted in favor of giving the department the extra money.
He said Newsom’s administration was “adamant” the DMV get more resources to address an expected surge in customer visits ahead of the Oct. 1, 2020 Real ID deadline. In a compromise, lawmakers added accountability measures requiring the DMV to disclose more data on key performance metrics, offer updates on hiring a permanent director, and continue providing monthly reports on wait times.