• Enforces the motor vehicles laws.

• Controls the department’s operations, contracts for services, hires consultants, and holds hearings.

• Issues drivers’ licenses, commercial drivers’ licenses, non-driver photo identification cards, motor vehicle registrations, motor vehicle titles, and other documents relating to the licensing of drivers and the registration of vehicles.

• Keeps operator license and vehicle registration records and conducts administrative hearings relating to license and registration suspensions or revocations and DMV-licensed businesses.

• Licenses and regulates various motor vehicle related businesses such as motor vehicle dealers, motor vehicle repairers, motor vehicle recyclers, wreckers, manufacturers, automobile clubs, and driving schools.

• Administers registration-based enforcement systems relating to uninsured drivers, unpaid municipal property taxes, and unpaid municipal parking tickets.

• Administers the Connecticut motor vehicle exhaust emissions inspection program.

• Operates the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (truck weight and safety inspections and carrier follow-up), and conducts safety inspections of school buses, public service vehicles, totaled and rebuilt vehicles, and certain other vehicles.

• Implements state responsibilities regarding numerous federal mandates and interstate agreements on commercial vehicles, licenses, exchange of driver information, and other matters.

1. The stated goal of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is to ensure that motor vehicles are operated safely on Connecticut’s highways. What does that mean to you with respect to the priorities you should set as commissioner? What new areas do you envision DMV entering to accomplish this that it has not previously entered?

2. DMV also seeks to deliver “high quality, innovative services” to its customers. How do you think the agency is delivering on this mission and what more, if anything, do you think it should be considering?

3. The motor vehicle emissions inspection program has been restarted following a long period suspension due to a number of problems with the system itself and the procedures for assuring accuracy and consistency of test procedures. The program relies upon review of a great amount of real-time data to properly administer. What processes have you established or do you intend to establish to assure that you are adequately informed of the program’s operations on a regular basis? What processes are in place to respond to issues that may arise with the restarted program on a timely basis?

4. To what extent are personnel losses affecting the agency’s operations and what plans do you have to enable DMV to provide quality public services under those conditions?

5. Given sufficient personnel and resources, what initiatives would you most like the agency to take on in the future? What is your vision for DMV?

6. DMV is one of the most data-intensive and data-dependent of all the state agencies. Yet DMV’s operations have long been hampered by an inefficient and outmoded data processing system. What is the plan DMV is currently following for modernizing its data processing and records system and when can we expect to see this fully realized?

7. DMV has experienced serious issues recently with respect to issuance of fraudulent drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations. Knowing that criminal investigations are still ongoing at the agency, what have you observed thus far in terms of how agency personnel are mobilizing to eliminate this problem? What other things are you considering implementing?

8. How do you propose to strike the balance between the need to ensure the integrity of the documentation process at DMV to protect it against manipulation by those with illegal intent and the need to avoid undue hardship on the many citizens conducting their legitimate business with the agency?

9. What implications do you see for agency operations as a result of the legislation now before Congress that could establish significant new requirements for state licensing agencies for both general credentials and those issued to noncitizens?

10. The driver retraining program, which DMV administers, has come under criticism by, among others, the state auditors with respect to its history, delayed and unimplemented regulations, administrative inadequacies, and its perceived ineffectiveness in dealing with problem drivers? What have you done to familiarize yourself with this issue and what conclusions have you drawn to date? Would you support the idea of a one-year suspension or moratorium on running this program so that a comprehensive approach may be taken to designing and delivering a program that meets the needs of the citizens of the state? Should such an evaluation include examination of the impact of not having a functioning license point system and an analysis of Connecticut’s current license suspension scheme?

11. Proper display of registration validation stickers on license plates is a continuing problem in Connecticut. This is exacerbated by the apparent ease with which the stickers are stolen. What is being done to determine a better way to display these stickers? What other innovations or new technologies, such as on-line transactions, smart card technology, and three-dimensional bar coding of information on licenses will you examine to enhance services?

12. In 1999, DMV proposed, and the legislature approved, a law requiring a full license plate reissue in a new, fully-reflectorized format. DMV argued that the program would eventually pay for itself because, among other things, the new format would make it possible to issue seven-character personalized plates. The plate replacement program has been completed, but to date there are no seven-character plates. Why hasn’t DMV been able to keep this commitment?

13. What problems, if any, has the growth of commerce over the Internet presented for DMV—for example, internet sales of motor vehicles or license and registration information?

14. How is the insurance cancellation tracking and enforcement program working? Can you say whether it has resulted in an overall reduction in the number of uninsured motorists operating in Connecticut? If so, how was that determined?

15. What problems, if any, has DMV experienced in implementing the many special license plate programs that have been created in recent years? Do you have any concerns that license plates are losing their ability to provide unique identification for law enforcement and other public safety purposes as a result of these programs?

16. In your opinion, how effective has the learner’s permit requirement for teen drivers been? Do you perceive a need to change or enhance the requirements?

17. Please update DMV’s accomplishments in the area of motor carrier weight and safety inspection and identify ways in which your agency has been able to successfully coordinate with the State Police in this area?

18. Are there any other significant challenges you see facing DMV in the next few years that are not apparent now?