DEER PARK, Texas – – State Representative Briscoe Cain (Deer Park) has been appointed by Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to serve as Chair of the newly-formed House Select Committee on Driver’s License Issuance and Renewal.
“The constituents of District 128 sent me to Austin with a mandate — to cut bureaucratic red tape and serve as their voice for effective, limited, and less burdensome government,” said Rep. Cain. “Chairing this committee provides a unique opportunity to do just that.”
The House Select Committee on Driver’s License Issuance and Renewal, which is composed of seven members of the Texas House of Representatives, will work over the course of the legislative interim to study policies and potential legislative solutions to expedite and improve the driver’s license renewal process in the State of Texas.
“Our state’s driver’s license offices have become a nightmare for Texas drivers, who have been forced to take hours away from work and their families to wait in lines wrapping around the block — only to face inadequate government service once they walk in the door,” Rep. Cain added. “I’m proud of the strides made by the Legislature to improve this process, but there’s more we can do in the next session and the months leading up to it. As Chair of this committee, I look forward to working with my colleagues over the coming months to cut government waste while making it more efficient for Texas taxpayers.”
Specifically, the House Select Committee on Driver’s License Issuance and Renewal is tasked with:
• Examining opportunities to expedite the driver’s license renewal processes, with a focus on long wait times, physician waivers for eye exams, redundant fingerprinting, and opportunities to complete the renewal online;
• Reviewing the feasibility of permanently transferring the licensing program from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) over to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV);
• Monitoring the use of additional funds that were devoted to the Department of Public Safety in the 86th Legislature for the purposes of improving the driver’s license renewal process, along with the construction of new driver’s license service centers;
• Monitoring the implementation of House Bill 1078 — which waives driver’s license and handgun license fees for individuals with certificates in cardiopulmonary resuscitation — and determining whether the legislation is being implemented as intended; and
• Monitoring the implementation of Senate Bill 616 — the DPS sunset bill — which provides for the conditional transfer of licensing programs from DPS to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and reviewing the new workgroup’s adoption of an implementation plan for the orderly transfer of programs.
In addition to serving as Chair of the new select committee, Rep. Cain also serves as a member of the House Committees on Elections, International Relations & Economic Development, and Resolutions Calendars.
To learn more: https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=128