DMV leader apologizes to NC lawmakers over failures leading to new ID renewal law

Lawmakers questioned Division of Motor Vehicles leadership on a driver’s license renewal policy the agency requested that breaches federal law and on a contract it recently awarded through an expedited process.

DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Wednesday during a committee hearing at the General Assembly that the driver’s license policy in conflict with federal law was approved largely because of miscommunication between his office and the N.C. Department of Transportation, which houses DMV.

But he defended the contract awarded to CBN Secure Technologies for the printing of licenses and explained various efforts made by his office to ensure it was the best choice.

The oversight committee, like the rest of the General Assembly, is controlled by Republicans. Goodwin is the former state Democratic Party chairman and was elected insurance commissioner as a Democrat.

Driver’s license provision

Under a new policy passed in this year’s state budget, North Carolina will allow the licenses of drivers ages 18 to 65 to remain valid for 16 years. It also allows drivers to renew their licenses online every time. Both changes are set to go into effect July 1, 2024.

Currently, customers aged 18 to 65 have to renew their licenses every eight years. They must visit a DMV office in person every other renewal.

This new policy runs afoul of the federal REAL ID Act, which enacted tighter security standards for licenses. REAL IDs, used by millions of North Carolinians, cannot be valid for more than eight years. The photos on these IDs must also be replaced at least every 16 years, as previously reported by The News & Observer.

At the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, Goodwin acknowledged his office requested the change, and he rescinded his comments from a week earlier in which he seemed to have forgotten the request came from him.

Goodwin said his office sought the change in an attempt to shorten wait times. Currently, in most circumstances, a DMV customer has to physically go to a DMV driver’s license office only once every 16 years.

He said when his agency realized in March the change would violate federal law, it notified the N.C. Department of Transportation legislative affairs office, and by April the provision was removed from the agency-requested bill.

But the provision also appeared in the House version of the budget, which passed on April 6. The final budget passed the legislature in late September.

“The key point is, knowing what we know now and knowing there’s miscommunication and now we have a better understanding, is focusing on what we need to solve this problem and get us back on track so that North Carolinians don’t lose access to Real IDs,” Goodwin said. “… There’s a lot of confusion, and I apologize for that.”

Republican Rep. Jeffrey McNeely of Stony Point questioned whether the language change was sent to anyone in the legislature. McNeely, who is a chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said he did not receive the change notification and requested that he and other chairs be notified of any future change requests.

Printing contract

As for the printing contract the DMV recently awarded to Canadian Bank Note Secure Technologies, lawmakers questioned the process the agency followed to pick a company.

The Canadian company has made driver’s licenses and IDs for the state of Virginia for years.

The company that currently has the printing business in North Carolina, Idemia, objects to how the new contract was awarded, a DMV spokesman previously told The N&O.

Lawmakers also questioned on Tuesday whether CBN Secure Technologies would be equipped to print color IDs.

Goodwin said on Tuesday that he learned in 2022 that the current contract with the vendor would end this year and could be extended only an additional year.

He also said that he sought to update driver’s license and ID credentials to new industry and safety standards, pointing to the modernized U.S. passport books which began being issued in 2021. These new passports have laser-engraved, black-and-white photos and are monochromatic. North Carolina licenses and identification cards are in color.

Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham of Rocky Mount questioned the color printing capacity of the company. Goodwin said Tuesday that “the selected vendor can do color. From what I understand is that they would prefer not to because the color is against the industry standards.”

Based on these security reasons and more, Goodwin said he used current law, which allows the DMV to select up to five projects to help meet modernization goals, to expedite the selection process.

From there, the DMV did a market analysis of companies that meet credential requirements and are recognized by the federal government and a nationwide motor vehicle association. This narrowed the field to three companies, which presented their products to the DMV. The chosen company was one of these three, Goodwin said.

Republican Rep. Harry Warren of Rowan County questioned why, if a big reason for selecting CBN Secure Technologies was to enhance security via monochromatic passports, a request was not made to move away from color IDs. Goodwin said the DMV shared such a request with DOT leadership “and it did not make — for whatever reason — did not make the final cut.”

Warren questioned Goodwin on whether he knew if any of his requests shared with DOT were also shared with the legislature. Goodwin replied that since he believes the agency-requested bill was changed, “that indicates that, there was, as I understand, communication on that.” Warren suggested looping lawmakers into future conversations.

“I believe we’ve learned a lot today about the method by which you award contracts and the budget process where we need some improvement on communication, apparently,” Warren said.

“We trust you and your staff will take appropriate steps to see that those changes are implemented,” Warren said in closing the committee.

He added that the committee looked forward to meeting with Goodwin and Chief Deputy Commissioner Portia Manley, who also attended Wednesday, to discuss ways to improve customer services and other challenges faced by the DMV.