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Government of the District of Columbia
Department of Motor Vehicles

Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Oversight Hearing

Testimony of Gabriel Robinson, Director
Department of Motor Vehicles

Before the Committee on Transportation and the Environment
Charles Allen, Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia

Wednesday, April 24, 2024
12 pm

Good afternoon, Chairperson Allen, members of the Committee, and Committee staff. I am Gabriel Robinson, Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

On behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser, I would like to thank our customers, Chairperson Allen, this Committee, and the rest of the Council for their support. I also want to congratulate the Mayor and her Administration for their extraordinary leadership and efforts to revitalize the District. And finally, I want to extend a special thank you to all my colleagues at DC DMV for their exceptional dedication and hard work. Team DMV continues to provide outstanding customer service to District residents.

I am pleased to provide testimony on Mayor Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2025 proposed budget, “A Fair Shot: Strategic Investment and Shared Sacrifice,” the District’s 29th consecutive balanced budget. With this budget, Mayor Bowser is continuing to strategically invest in District residents by prioritizing increasing access to affordable housing, creating a safer, stronger DC, expanding the reach of health and human services, accelerating achievements in education, ensuring access to job and economic opportunities, investing in transportation and the environment, and improving infrastructure and community spaces.

The Mayor’s FY 25 proposed budget supports DMV’s mission to promote the safe operation of motor vehicles and public safety while providing outstanding customer service. Our agency provides services to more than 623,000 licensed drivers and identification cardholders in the District and serves more than 310,000 registered vehicle owners at our four service centers. DMV interacts with District residents and non-residents, with an average of 3,200 daily customer contacts, which is more than almost any other District Government agency.

DC DMV processes and mails products generated from more than 392,000 online transactions annually. We provide exceptional Adjudication Services, including conducting more than 210,000 in-person and mail hearings annually, and more than 20,000 virtual hearings. We also collect and process more than 2.7 million tickets each year. At our Inspection Station, we conduct more than 178,000 annual vehicle inspections, including more than 8,300 inspections using our self-service on-board diagnostic (OBD) emissions kiosks, located in Ward 4 and now also in Ward 8.

Let me now briefly describe DMV’s proposed budget and projects for the coming fiscal year. DMV’s FY 25 proposed operating budget is $70,879,993, which represents a 4.7 percent increase from the FY 24 approved operating budget of $67,707,971. The proposed budget is comprised of $60,266,000 in Local funds and $10,614,000 in Special Purpose Revenue funds. DMV’s FY 25 Capital Budget is $3,200,000, allocated to continue the modernization efforts underway for our licensing and registration system, also known as “DESTINY.”

The FY 25 budget proposed by the Mayor invests or impacts the following DMV programs:

• Restores $1.9M in funding that was omitted from the FY 24 operating budget due to a drafting error. The restored funding covers costs associated with DMV security, fixed costs assessments, telecommunications, and cashiering services at the Georgetown location.
• Grants a one-time enhancement of $1,185,000 to upgrade and repair the antiquated IT network at DMV’s headquarters located at 95 M Street SW, which serves as the “nucleus” of our agency’s IT infrastructure.
• Funds an additional FTE to support DMV’s implementation and execution of the Second Chance Amendment Act.
• Funds the DESTINY modernization project, designed to meet the District’s requirement for a modernized, state-of-the-art licensing and registration system.
  The DMV also helped balance the FY 25 budget. The agency has a reduction of seven FTEs (two Correspondence Specialists and four Adjudication Hearing Examiners). The elimination of these vacant positions represents a reduction of $778,663 in personnel services. Additionally, the proposal reduces the telecommunications funding by $33,859 to align the budget with the FY 25 fixed costs assessment.

I would like to take a few moments to highlight some of the agency’s FY 24 accomplishments, many of which will continue into FY 25:

• DMV hired 15 Hearing Examiners out of the positions that we were allocated at the start of FY 24, as a result of the expansion of the Automated Ticket Enforcement (ATE) Program. The agency is in our final phase of on-boarding the remaining Hearing Examiner positions.
• DMV participated in two of the Mayor’s Career Fairs hosted by the DC Department of Human Resources, which resulted in the agency filling 20 vacancies. We are also participating in the upcoming Spring Hiring Fair on May 16. DC is hiring.
• DMV has revised its annual registration fees for electric passenger vehicles (other than a motorcycle or motor-driven cycles) with a manufacturer’s shipping weight of less than 5,000 pounds. As of October 1, 2023, these vehicles can subtract 1,000 pounds from their manufacturer’s weight when renewing the vehicle registration. A brand-new electric passenger vehicle under 5,000 pounds became eligible for a $36 registration fee per year for the first two years of registration. An additional vehicle class has also been added, Class VI. This Class is for vehicles weighing 3,500 pounds or greater that have been issued a disability license plate, with additional weight due to the accommodation of a disability. The registration is $72 per year. The updated fees will support our commitment to energy efficiency and accessibility, while reflecting cost-saving measures that benefit District residents.
• In January of this year, DMV launched a new webpage for Active-Duty Military and Foreign Service residents and their families. The dedicated page, which includes Driver License and ID card services, vehicle services, and frequently asked questions, intends to eliminate barriers to completing transactions and address the unique challenges that service members and their families often face.
• On March 5, DMV opened a second self-service on-board diagnostic (OBD) kiosk in Ward 8’s Fort Stanton neighborhood. After the success of the Ward 4 kiosk launched by Mayor Bowser in 2019, which has more than 8,300 completed inspections. the new kiosk allows District residents East of the River to easily perform their own vehicle emissions tests 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
• In July, DMV will launch the Knowledge Test Educational Outreach Program for teenagers and young adults, ages 16-21. This program will provide young people with the opportunity to participate in DC DMV's Permit Prep Boot Camp with the goal of taking and passing the Knowledge Test, which will enable them to obtain a learner’s permit. Curriculum includes roadway safety components as part of the District’s Vision Zero initiative. Space is limited; however, students who are able to attend will leave this fast-paced, three-day boot camp with the confidence, knowledge, and prep materials necessary to take the DC DMV Knowledge Test.

In closing, the resources allocated to DMV will play a critical role in helping the agency to continue to provide outstanding service to District residents and all DMV customers. The Council and this Committee are critical allies in this effort, and we appreciate your collaboration to ensure we operate efficiently and effectively. We look forward to working together to achieve our shared goals and give all residents a fair shot, as outlined by Mayor Bowser.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to answering your questions.