TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Two Florida lawmakers say the agency overseeing the state’s driver’s licenses, license plates, and the Florida Highway Patrol is a mess, and something needs to change.
Right now, the FHP is under the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
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“Respectfully, I don’t know why FHP was ever put under them to begin with,” State Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, told News 6 Thursday.
Daley has filed HB 1199, and State Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, has filed SB 1450. The final bill that’s approved would put the FHP under the oversight of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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Daley and Polsky say FLHSMV needs better accountability. The agency runs only two driver’s license offices in the state: the one in Miami-Dade County and the one in Broward County. But the offices are plagued by long wait lines and other issues, like appointment scalping.
“Senior citizens were passing out and needing medical service because they’re standing out in the heat for hours waiting for these services,” Daley said.
Daley says FLHSMV used to run all of the county driver’s license offices, but tax collectors now run the offices in every other county. Miami-Dade and Broward counties are in the process of transitioning to the same format.
“They’ve had decreasing responsibilities and can’t do the job,” Daley said.
The bill would also require the FLHSMV executive director to be confirmed by the Florida Senate.
“With all due respect to the current director, maybe things would be different if they had to answer to the Florida Senate,” Daley said.
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Daley said moving FHP to FDLE would put FHP under a law enforcement agency better equipped to oversee training and accountability.
“Florida’s law enforcement structure should be organized around public safety and services, not outdated bureaucracy,” Polsky said in a news release. “By moving the Highway Patrol and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement to FDLE, we are strengthening coordination, improving accountability, and ensuring critical public safety and licensing functions are led by experienced law enforcement professionals.”
Daley also sees benefits for increasing recruitment and retention levels at FHP, which has been plagued by a shortage of troopers for years.
It gives FHP troopers the opportunity for advancement," Daley said. “You can grow in the leadership ranks, but you’re always gonna be a trooper. If you’re under FDLE, you can transfer to another agency.”
Daley said improving recruitment and retention at FHP would also help cut spending on overtime.
Whether the bills make it through the 60-day legislative session remains to be seen. The session is expected to be another tough one, Daley said, with lawmakers expected to battle on big issues like mid-decade redistricting and property tax reform.
However, Daley hopes the idea of consolidating government agencies in the name of efficiency will be an attractive one for the legislature’s Republican leaders.
Everyone’s all jazzed about government efficiency and DHSMV seems to be a bureaucratic mess," Daley said.
The Florida Legislative Session opens on Tuesday, Jan. 13.