The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) won’t be audited despite continued complaints about wait times.
DMV Director Jean Shiomoto says the California State Legislature did, however, approve funding Wednesday for 230 new employees and other actions in an effort to reduce escalating wait times.
"I appreciate the swift action of the Legislature to help the Department tackle these long waits with a new wave of employees. Today’s wait times are unacceptable and we are continuing to take action to improve service for all Californians."
Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham felt an audit was necessary. "The DMV is broken and drivers deserve answers. An audit would have been the best way to identify and address the DMV’s underlying issues. We can’t continue to throw money at the department and expect its problems to be solved. I will continue to focus on finding ways to make government work for the Central Coast."
Wednesday’s decision comes after the Department of Finance and the DMV requested expedited approval from the Legislature of $16.6 million to hire additional employees at field offices across California.
The DMV says it is also working on other improvements, including:
- Mailing driver license or ID card renewal notices earlier to give people more time.
- Continuing to increase the number of front line employees.
- Allowing customers to leave the DMV line and return later when they receive a text message before their service number is called.
- Supplying customers who do not have access to a cellphone or computer with handheld devices they can use to fill out electronic driver license applications while they wait in line.
- Expanding DMV Now Self-Service Terminals – that allow Californians to renew their vehicle registration without going to a field office – into 50 more grocery stores, bringing the statewide total to 160.
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