FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Kentucky state representative is renewing her push to eliminate the state's regional driver's license office model and return licensing services to county offices.
Representative Savannah Maddox, (R) Dry Ridge, says recent fraud allegations are another reason why Kentucky should abandon its regional office system and move driver's license services back to Circuit Clerk Offices in all 120 counties.
Last week, Governor Andy Beshear confirmed that 1,985 driver's licenses in Kentucky were revoked and some temporary workers were fired as part of an ongoing investigation. The reported allegations are that temporary workers in regional offices were issuing IDs to undocumented immigrants in exchange for $200.
"These allegations of fraud are just another reminder that we should have passed legislation to move Kentucky's driver's license program back to each individual county, so that Kentuckians can have better access, so that we can protect against instances of fraud," Maddox said.
Maddox has been working to change Kentucky's driver's license process for about a year, calling the current regional office model a failed system that creates unnecessary burdens for residents.
"It's been nothing short of a debacle. Kentuckians have had to wait months just to get an appointment to get their driver's license renewed. They've had to take off work, drive hours, wait hours in line, and then wait nearly a month to get their license mailed to them," Maddox said.
"We need to go back to issuing those drivers licenses in each 120 counties," she said.
Under Maddox's proposed legislation, driver's licenses would return to circuit clerks, not county clerks. She noted that the distinction is important because circuit clerks have experience in driver's licenses and county clerks do not.
"Our circuit clerks successfully administered the driver's license program for 88 years - nearly a century. They certainly are equipped and I have full confidence in their ability to resume doing so," Maddox said.
The representative argues that the current system creates significant obstacles for many Kentuckians who cannot easily travel to regional offices or take time off work for lengthy waits.
"No longer should Kentuckians have to wait months to get an appointment, drive two or three counties over, wait all day in line - many times having taken off work - just to receive a driver's license three to four weeks later in the mail," Maddox said.
She noted that some constituents have found it faster to obtain a federal passport than a Kentucky driver's license.
"It has been quicker to get a passport. It was actually quicker for one of my constituents to get a passport from the federal level than it was to get a driver's license," Maddox said.
"It has been an incredible burden for a lot of folks that do not have the capability to take off work, wait all day standing in line, and then walk away empty handed just to wait for their driver's license to come," she said.
Maddox explained that regional offices essentially verify documentation and send it to a third party for processing, functions that she believes circuit clerks are prepared to handle.
"Whenever you go into a regional office to get your driver's license, they're essentially verifying documentation and they're sending it out to third party and (the license is) coming in the mail. So, they're not issuing anything. They're not doing anything that our circuit clerks are prepared to do," Maddox said.
