Driver's License Centers Have Hours-long Waits, But Will Texas Lawmakers Fix the Problem?

AUSTIN -- With two weeks left in the legislative session, lawmakers are still at odds about how to fix the vexing hours-long waits at the state’s driver’s license centers and how quickly they can provide relief.The House wants to fast-track the relief plan by pushing through a transfer of the state’s driver license division from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Motor Vehicles by Jan. 2021. But senators say rushing the transfer would create chaos and want to study the move before suggesting a remedy in the next legislative session. Stakeholders also question whether wait times would improve under the DMV's oversight. In the meantime, lawmakers plan to add more employees to DPS to provide some short-term relief. “You’ve gotta have a plan of how you transition over, and study all the different pieces of it,” said Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, who heads the Senate’s transportation committee. “If we try to do it in this two-year cycle we think we’ll cause more harm than good and our thing is ‘Don’t do harm.’”  Continue reading...