Just to prove the Governor isn’t the only lawmaker in Hartford who tosses out a big, new idea as part of budget talks, then changes her mind…
As previously mentioned on this blog, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who in May called Keno gaming a “much-needed revenue stream for our state” quietly backed off of the proposal earlier this week.
During a conversation about Keno with House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden this afternoon, I asked him about one of his party’s dramatic budget ideas – the dissolution of the Department of Motor Vehicles proposed in late July.
“We haven’t talked about that in a while,” Donovan said.
Donovan suggested I talk to Democrats in the Senate.
“I think everything’s still on the table, but it’s probably not ‘Topic A’,” Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said.
The DMV dissolution is only necessary if the Governor fails to act once the two ongoing investigations are completed, the investigations are certain to show mismanagement by DMV managers for years.
Add the results of these investigations to the past mismanagement at the DMV and you wonder why a top to bottom shake up hasn’t happen already.
Besides the poor management skills and basic corruption, one of the DMV’s basic functions is to test new Drivers– To date, by the DMV’s own admission, no basic guide lines for testing new drivers exists.
Lack of training for agents and inspectors who conduct the Behind-the-Wheel road tests means that many students who take the road test have more formal education then the agents/inspectors who are conducting the testing. The commissioner has failed to even come up with guidelines to prevent parents who have suspended licenses from being the main teachers for new teen drivers in their house hold as required by regulations.
We keep spending tax dollars on managers who are not interested in the safety of the driving public, and only crisis manage when their short commings appear in the press.