The fifth meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation was held on<Day> Thursday, November 9, 2006, at 1:00 PM, in Room 154 of the Capitol Annex. Representative Hubert Collins, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Brett Guthrie, Co-Chair; Representative Hubert Collins, Co-Chair; Senators Walter Blevins, Jr., Charlie Borders, David E. Boswell, Robert J. (Bob) Leeper, R. J. Palmer II, Richard "Dick" Roeding, Richie Sanders, Jr., Gary Tapp, and Damon Thayer; Representatives Eddie Ballard, J. R. Gray, W. Keith Hall, Melvin B. Henley, Jimmie Lee, Paul H. Marcotte, Russ Mobley, Lonnie Napier, Don R. Pasley, Marie L. Rader, Rick W. Rand, Jim Stewart III, Tommy Turner, and John Vincent.
Guests: Transportation Cabinet officials: Roy Mundy, Commissioner, Sandra Sanders, Deputy Commissioner, David Jackson, Director, Department of Vehicle Regulation; Dana Fugazzi, Legal Counsel; Debra Gabbard, Executive Director, Office of Budget & Fiscal Management; and Jim Wathen, Director, Office of Program Performance.
LRC Staff: John Snyder, Jim Roberts, Brandon White, and Linda Hughes.
Senator Roeding moved to approve the Committee's minutes from its September 5, and October 3, 2006 meetings, as submitted. Representative Pasley seconded the motion, which passed by voice vote.
Chairman Collins introduced the new staff person, Brandon White, to the Committee members.
Roy Mundy, Commissioner, Sandra Sanders, Deputy Commissioner, and David Jackson, Director, Department of Vehicle Regulation, Transportation Cabinet, discussed the cost and implementation for the Federal REAL ID Act. Mr. Mundy stated, while there is no financing for the mandate, Kentucky is the only state to have actually receive a federal grant ($3 million) to pilot this Act.
Mr. Mundy said that the Act calls for all states to have their driver license (DL) or identification (ID) system certified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHL) by May 11, 2008. Failing to do so will restrict the citizens from those states from using that state's DL/ID as identification for federal purposes, such as airports, social security offices, and federal court buildings.
Mr. Mundy stated that the REAL ID Act calls for states to employ technology to capture digital images of identity source documents and store those documents 10 years if electronically kept or seven years for paper retention. States will be required to share their driver license information with other states. He said that the minimum data required on a drivers license will be full legal name, date of birth, gender, DL number, digital photo, address, and signature.
Mr. Mundy said that the Act defines certain identity proofing measures that must take place prior to issuance of a driver's license, such as: (1) check DHS' Systematic Alien Verification (which Kentucky will have in place by FY 07); (2) verify the social security number with the Social Security Administration (which Kentucky is currently doing); and (3) still other requirements that have yet to be identified by the Federal government. Mr. Mundy said that states must ensure the physical security of locations where DL/IDs are produced and store. He also said that persons authorized to produce DL/IDs must receive specialized training, such as fraudulent document recognition, and must receive security clearance.
In closing, Mr. Mundy stated that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has re-directed Kentucky's pilot program efforts to focus on the verification of birth certificates. He said this area causes some problems since there are a number of different types of birth certificates, and in rare cases, some Kentucky citizens have never been issued a birth certificate. He said that the Cabinet has met with the National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems regarding this dilemma. Mr. Mundy stated the state has yet to receive a Federal directive on how to resolve the issue.
When asked if the Cabinet will receive all of the federal guidelines for the Act prior to May 2008, Mr. Mundy said he was hopeful the federal rules would be issued soon so the state could identify key components of implementation.
Mr. Mundy was then asked how the Cabinet planned on having all of the components in place and be able to issue new driver licenses by May 2008. Mr. Mundy clarified that while the components needed to be in placed by May 2008, the actual issuance of new driver licenses may occur during the state's normal four-year license turn-around time, depending on federal rules.
The next item on the Committee's agenda was a discussion involving the cost of contracting out AVIS. Roy Mundy and Debra Gabbard, Executive Director, Office of Budget & Fiscal Management presented this testimony. Mr. Mundy stated that Kentucky had just received a $700,000 grant for the state's AVIS replacement pilot program. He said that this grant will allow Kentucky to place new equipment in three of the five smaller counties it planned to use for this program.
Mr. Mundy state that there are currently three to five vendors offering systems that the Cabinet is interested in examining. He informed the Committee that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of last week in November the Cabinet will host a demonstration from these vendors. The Cabinet has invited county clerks, automobile dealers, and other interested parties to this demonstration. Mr. Mundy invited the Committee members. He said that it is the Cabinet's hope that it will identify the system that most meets Kentucky's needs.
Ms. Gabbard stated that she could not give the Committee a cost estimate for the state's replacement to AVIS simply because the state had yet to identify the system's replacement. She did say that thanks to 2006 HB 537, the state as of January 2007, will increase its motor vehicle registration fees by six dollars, raising it to $21. Three of those six dollars will go directly to the county clerks, to be used at their discretion. This three dollar increase to the county clerks is estimated to generate an annual revenue of $10 to $13 million.
Ms. Gabbard said that the remaining three dollars will be distributed as follows: one dollar will go towards the AVIS replacement, one dollar to technology in the county clerk offices, and the last one dollar will go to the county clerks for office revenue supplement. The one dollar for technology and the one dollar for office revenue supplement is to also be used at the clerks' discretions. Ms. Gabbard said that the one dollar for the AVIS replacement will be collected and placed in a special fund until FY 09. That collection is estimated to raise around five million dollars by FY 09 and used for the new AVIS replacement.
When asked, Ms. Gabbard stated that the Cabinet had yet to identify an additional revenue source for the purchase of the AVIS replacement above the one dollar fee, which should bring in $3-$4 million annually.
The last item on the Committee's agenda was the review of nine administrative regulations. Those regulations were: 600 KAR 3:030, 600 KAR 6:010, 600 KAR 6:030, 600 KAR 6:040, 600 KAR 6:050, 600 KAR 6:060, 600 KAR 6:065, 600 KAR 6:070, and 600 KAR 6:080. Jim Wathen, Director Office of Program Performance and Dana Fugazzi, Cabinet Legal Counsel, discussed the regulations. The Committee took no action, following the explanations.
Chairman Collins referred to two informational items within the members' folders, a Statewide Single Audit of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the Transportation Cabinet, and a response to Committee questions from the Chairman of the Kentucky Railroad Association.
Chairman Collins spoke briefly to the Committee about the five departing members of the Committee and thanked them for their service. These members were Representatives Butler, Cornett, Marcotte, Meade, and Weaver. Representative Marcotte thanked the chairman for his kind words.
With no further business before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.