Killea Bill Would Put DMV Into Overdrive--Working on Weekends

First the grocery stores, then the banks. Now, the final frontier: weekend hours for the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

That’s what San Diego Democratic Assemblywoman Lucy Killea has demanded in a bill she has co-authored that would force the DMV to try out Saturday service for one year at 16 of its 147 offices.

DMV officials “have known for 10 years that the public favors Saturday office hours,” Killea said in an interview Friday at the Normal Street DMV office. “But it became clear to me that they needed to be pushed.”

Not so, says DMV spokesman Bill Gengler: “We are not opposed to opening on Saturdays; we just want to do it right.”

The DMV opposes Killea’s bill, Gengler said, because it does not appropriate funds for the extended hours. The DMV has estimated the program’s cost at $1.8 million.

But Killea said the program could be implemented for less than $1 million. She called the DMV estimate “inflated . . . a typical bureaucratic device to kill a good piece of legislation with an exaggerated or impractical cost estimate.”

At the heart of the cost dispute is a lack of DMV enthusiasm for the weekend shift. Only 15% of the staff is willing to work even a few Saturdays, Gengler said. While Killea says simple rescheduling would be feasible, the DMV says it would have to hire new workers or pay overtime.

Supporters of the bill and DMV officials could not resolve their differences in talks held this week in Sacramento, according to Gengler. The talks’ collapse triggered Killea’s charges, he said.

Meanwhile, there were few lines at the Grant Street office Friday until the lunch-hour crush forced delays in service.

“This is one of the best DMV offices, though there is still a wait sometimes,” Killea said. “Saturday service would provide greater flexibility so that people don’t have to lose work time and pay.”

Jeffrey Hale, spending his lunch break in a DMV line, called that “a good idea.” But across the counter, DMV operations officer Rudy Fuhlendorf had a different perspective: “I am not thrilled about it,” he said.

The DMV is experimenting with extended weekday hours at 16 locations,

Gengler said. The Escondido office, for example, is now open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The scheduled-appointments system has already improved service, Gengler said, and other innovations are on their way. These include over-the-phone service to accept credit cards, and drive-through kiosks in parking lots, he said.

Killea predicted that her bill, currently awaiting approval by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, will be approved by the Legislature. Saturday hours would begin June 30, 1990, at offices designated by the DMV.

The bill, AB 1122, was introduced by Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Fremont) and, along with Killea, is co-authored by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Panorama City).