Funding Saves Rural DL Exam Sites

Two rural legislators who fought to preserve rural driver's license testing sites today praised last-minute legislation that saves the centers.

Reps. Ryan McMullen and Ryan Kiesel spent the final hours of legislative session last Friday shuttling between the House and Senate Chambers to ensure 32 testing sites across the state will remain open.

"Too often, rural Oklahoma gets the short end of the stick at the Legislature," said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. "I'm very pleased that did not happen this year. Obtaining a driver's license should be an accessible government service no matter where you live in Oklahoma."

The Department of Public Safety was planning to close over half the drivers' license examination stations this summer, reducing the locations from 59 to 27. The closure of the sites would have forced many rural Oklahomans to drive as much as 200 miles to receive their drivers' license.

Legislators voted at 10:20p.m. Friday night (the last day of this year's legislative session) to use revenue collected from the reissuance of Oklahoma license plates to ensure driver's license testing sites do not have to close this year.

House Bill 3326 would redesign and reissue license plates to all Oklahomans when they renew their annual tag in 2010. The new plate will not cost Oklahomans any additional money over their annual tag fee unless they want to keep their current license plate number. The fee to keep the same number will be $15 and is expected to bring in over $2million in new revenue.

House Bill 2348 would dedicate that new revenue to DPS to keep all their drivers' license testing sites open for at least the next year until legislators can develop a long-term solution.

"Had this legislation not passed, many Oklahomans would have faced longer drives, longer lines, and lost time at distant testing sites," said state Kiesel, D-Seminole. "Given the rising cost of fuel, that would be an unacceptable financial burden to place on families already struggling to make ends meet."

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Plate Revenue Would Keep DL Sites Open

Revenue collected from the reissuance of Oklahoma license plates will go toward ensuring driver’s license testing sites do not have to close this year, House Republican leaders said today.

House Bill 3326, which is pending before the governor, would redesign and reissue license plates to all Oklahomans when they renew their annual tag in 2010. The new plate will not cost Oklahomans any additional money over their annual tag fee unless they want to keep their current license plate number. The fee to keep the same number will be $15, and is expected to bring in over $2 million in new revenue.

The Department of Public Safety is considering reducing their number of driver’s license examination stations from 59 to 27.

House Bill 2348 passed out of the House GCCA committee today and would dedicate that new revenue to DPS to keep all their testing sites open for at least the next year until legislators can further study the issue and develop a long-term solution, said Rep. Ken Miller, author of the bill.

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Legislators Urge DL Exam Sites Retention

Reps. Ryan McMullen and Ryan Kiesel today urged colleagues to work to prevent the closure of over half of the state's driver's license examination sites.

More than 30 driver's license examination stations may be closed this year due to budget short-falls at the Department of Public Safety, according to recent reports.

The department is considering a plan to reduce the number of sites from 59 to 27.

"This is the reason folks get frustrated with government. People should expect something like obtaining a driver's license to be relatively hassle-free," said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. "I assure you that when people are forced to drive as much as 200 extra miles and wait in line an extra couple of hours for something as basic as a driver's license, people will be justifiably upset."

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