Newsom Names New Head of DMV, Stresses Incremental Change to Agency

Gov. Gavin Newsom says he intends to underpromise and overdeliver when it comes to updating California's beleaguered Department of Motor Vehicles and improving customer service. He made that announcement Tuesday while revealing the final report of a DMV strike team he assembled at the beginning of the year.

"We're not going big here," Newsom said. "I could be coming up to you today talking about a multibillion-dollar procurement to overwhelmingly change the system and, to within the next five years, reimagine the Department of Motor Vehicles only to once again fall short. We are looking to modernize but at the same time do it in a very systemic and sequential way."

Wait times at DMV offices averaged two hours last summer, prompting outrage from lawmakers and customers.

The strike team recommends more use of DMV kiosks and pop-up locations, as well as partnering with companies like the American Automobile Association to make accessing DMV functions easier. The agency's website will be redone to make it more user-friendly. Several field offices will also begin accepting credit cards in the coming months as part of a pilot program that will eventually be rolled out to all branches.

To help achieve the modernization, Newsom has tapped Steven Gordon to be the agency's new director. Gordon comes from the private sector and most recently served as a managing partner at zTransforms, a technology and consulting firm for businesses. He's taking over an agency that has seen wait times skyrocket while also grappling with consistent technology outages.

Gordon said the DMV needs to stabilize the system it currently uses while also upgrading to something more modern.

"The good news is this problem has been solved by a lot of other companies. ... We're not inventing anything here," Gordon said. "But we're going to hopefully pick the best of those pieces so we can actually put together a solution that supports all Californians."

One of Gordon's first orders of business will be preparing the DMV for the federal Real ID deadline. The more stringent identification will be required for domestic flights beginning Oct. 1, 2020, unless you have a passport. It requires an in-person visit to a DMV office, and officials say a surge of people applying for the ID was partly to blame for increased wait times last summer. Newsom said, despite the steps being taken now, the looming Real ID deadline will make next year rough.

"Next year will be tough. Next June, July, August, September," Newsom said. "We know that's coming and we're doing everything we can to mitigate that and reduce the volume. Increase the transactions online, decrease the in-person engagement."

Tomorrow morning all DMV field offices will be closed so employees can receive training on Real ID procedures.