A member of the Kentucky House of Representatives has filed a bill that she says will “fix Kentucky’s broken driver’s license system.”
Savannah Maddox, a Republican representing the state’s 61st District (Gallatin and Grant counties and part of Kenton and Boone counties), filed House Bill 162 last week. The measure seeks to create new sections in the Kentucky Revised Statutes in order to “establish the circuit clerk as the representative of the Transportation Cabinet for accepting applications for operator’s licenses, instruction permits, and personal identification cards and issuing temporary credentials.”
Maddox commented publicly on the filing via her Facebook page, saying, “I filed HB 162 to fix Kentucky’s broken driver’s license system and put a stop to the frustration that so many across our Commonwealth have experienced.”
“Kentucky’s current regional office model has proven to be a significant failure,” Maddox claimed. “Creating unnecessary burdens for our citizens and undermining the efficiency of a once-effective system. It’s time to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and take decisive action to return the issuance of driver’s licenses to each individual county, where it belongs.”
Maddox went on to point out that circuit clerks were successfully able to issue and renew driver’s licenses for many decades prior to the adoption of the current system. She said that the shift to the regional model, as opposed to the local, has led to long wait times, hardships related to travel, and, according to her post, a “lack of accountability.”
Maddox was joined by several cosponsors in the filing of HB 162, including Representatives Felicia Rabourn, Steve Doan, Candy Massaroni, Mark Hart, Josh Calloway, Richard White, Ryan Dotson, Thomas Huff, Peyton Griffee, TJ Roberts and Steve Bratcher, all Republican.
“Our coalition, comprising lawmakers, county judge executives, local elected officials, and citizens from all walks of life, is growing stronger every day,” Maddox said in her post. “This is not a partisan issue; it’s a sensible solution that benefits all Kentuckians.”
To learn more about HB 162, visit legislature.ky.gov.
