RALEIGH — A bill filed in the North Carolina House would change the appointment process for the commissioner of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
House Bill 309 includes multiple transportation-related changes, including changing the governor’s appointment of the commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as being subject to confirmation and approval by the state Senate.
The House’s proposed budget adjustment plan also includes language changing the appointment of the DMV commissioner under Section 41.9. The recently released Senate proposal for budget adjustments does not mention changes to the appointment of the DMV commissioner.
Similar to the change for the DMV commissioner, the composition of the North Carolina Railroad Board of Directors would be altered, reducing the governor’s appointments from seven to six and adding the Commissioner of Agriculture or their designee as a member.
The bill requires evaluation and oversight of DMV’s IT modernization efforts, including a third-party evaluation and the selection of a vendor to manage the implementation of a cloud-based operating system.
Also in the bill, the Department of Transportation would be given more flexibility in contracting methods for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program projects. Additionally, the bill would authorize the creation of a Railroad Transportation Corridor Authority under specific criteria, outlining their powers and limitations.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 30-19 but did not advance to a floor vote prior to the legislature adjourning the short session on June 28.
