MINUTES OF THE meeting
of the
ASSEMBLY committee on Ways and Means/Senate Finance
Joint Subcommittee on
Public Safety/Natural Resources/transportation
Seventy-First Session
March 20, 2001
The Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety/Natural Resources/Transportationwas called to order at 8:17 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20, 2001. Chairman David Parks presided in Room 2134 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Guest List. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mr. David Parks, Chairman
Mr. Bob Beers
Mrs. Vonne Chowning
Mrs. Marcia de Braga
Mr. John Marvel
Mr. Richard D. Perkins
SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen, Chairman
Senator William O’Donnell
Senator Joseph Neal, Jr.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
None
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Gary Ghiggeri, Fiscal Analyst
Steve Abba, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst
Mark Krmpotic, Program Analyst
Andrea Carothers, Committee Secretary
JUSTICE GRANT – BUDGET PAGE PS-44
The Chair recognized Richard Kirkland, Director, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety (DMV/PS). Mr. Kirkland introduced Gary White, Administrator, DMV/PS. Mr. Kirkland opined that Mr. White was highly experienced in utilizing government programs as he was in charge of the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance in California for five years. Mr. Kirkland stated that the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant was the basis for today’s discussion. The Bureau of Justice Assistance had a manual outlining the requirements for the grant. In 1995 when the Federal Liaison Connecting Official of Nevada – Networking Equipment Support Team program (FALCON’S NEST) began it included two portions, but only completed the Excess Property Program (1033). This program had been successful, and the state of Nevada and local law enforcement agencies had obtained over $10 million worth of equipment and materials. The guideline for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant stated that to participate in the program, the agency should be participating in the Law Enforcement Equipment Purchase Program (1122), which was organized by the federal government to supplement assets received by purchasing support for the assets through the federal process. Mr. Kirkland stated that there was a substantial amount of money to be saved by purchasing through the federal government. He noted that in Colorado and Arizona the annual savings had been in the half million to million dollar range.
Mr. White noted that he was a retired police officer from the state of Nevada. He explained that decision unit E-250 contained $95,400 in federal funds and a match of $31,800 in General Funds for FY2002. In FY2003 the decision unit requested $90,845 in federal funds and $30,282 in General Funds. Mr. White referenced his handout (Exhibit C), and said there were 151 law enforcement agencies in Nevada and approximately 8,500 peace officers. Implementing the 1122 Program and enhancing the 1033 Program would provide Nevada state and local law enforcement agencies with the ability to stretch their limited budgets. Mr. White noted that there were two charts, a program handout, and a newspaper article included in his handout.
Chairman Parks inquired about the excess property that could be procured through the 1033 and 1122 Programs, as well as what the differences between the two programs were. Mr. White stated that both programs were authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act. The 1033 Program allowed state and local law enforcement agencies to procure excess military equipment at no charge from military bases throughout the world. In Nevada there was Nellis Air Force Base, and in California there was Sierra Army Depot and three others located near Sacramento that the agency would utilize. Law enforcement agencies could utilize those bases to obtain equipment. The gathering of this equipment needed to be coordinated through the state coordinator, which in Nevada was currently the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance. Mr. White stated that Nevada had received 800 basic duty uniforms, flack jackets, and excess computers. Any item that the military was discarding was available to state and local law enforcement agencies provided that a law enforcement nexus was shown. This included office supplies, evidence collection tools, vehicles, officer safety gear, and audiovisual equipment. He noted that the equipment might not be in premier shape, and might need repair work, or maintenance work. Because the Fallon Naval Air Station sent a majority of their military vehicles to Sierra Army Depot for disposal, Nevada was at an advantage for having first choice of those vehicles.
The 1122 Program allowed local and state law enforcement agencies to purchase equipment within the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This program allowed the agency to purchase equipment with a counter drug nexus and the GSA was working to expand that to counter terrorism and law enforcement activities. Any item that had a counter drug nexus could be purchased. Mr. White explained that if there was the need for a fax machine, computers or vehicles to be used for a law enforcement endeavor to support the drug operations or in an overview to complete reports, the agencies could purchase that equipment. He noted that there were two agencies with surplus military aircraft, Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The bigger agencies were the only ones able to maintain the aircrafts due to the expense of the parts. Mr. White stated there was a substantial savings through both the 1122 and 1033 Programs. He reiterated that through the 1033 Program the agency was able to procure free equipment, and through the 1122 Program the agency was able to buy new equipment.
The Chair reminisced that 20 years previous he had traveled to the Marine Corps Depot in Barstow, California, and felt “like a kid in a candy store.” He asked if there was the possibility of seeing tanks on the street in the future. Mr. Kirkland stated that the agency had pictures of armored vehicles that could be used in hostage shooting situations (Exhibit D).
Chairman Parks asked if the agency had four full-time equivalent (FTE) employees to run the programs. Mr. White answered in the negative and stated that he was the Administrator of the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance. The agency’s main priority was to fund federal dollars in Nevada to support criminal justice. The two programs were supplemental programs to the office in order to expand the operations and support law enforcement endeavors. The programs supported street officers, district attorneys’ offices, sheriff departments, state law enforcement agencies, and all capacities that had law enforcement responsibilities.
Mr. White stated the pictures that had been distributed were examples of equipment (Exhibit D). One was a “Humvee” that had been procured by the Santa Maria Police Department for $700 and was used as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program(DARE) support vehicle, and for special operations. The other was an armored rescue vehicle with the Santa Ana Police Department. Mr. White stated that if the Los Angeles Police Department had an armored rescue vehicle they would have been able to quell a past incident at a Bank of America in a more expeditious manner.
The military was unable to give out wartime items such as tanks, rockets, bombs, etc., stated Mr. White. The distributed equipment was for officer and citizen safety.
Senator William O’Donnell asked if the federal government had any robots that would be included in the distributed items. He noted there had been a situation in Las Vegas where the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not have a needed robot. The nearby police departments did not have a robot either, but one was borrowed from Nellis Air Force Base. The situation was one of a possible bomb in a stolen truck, and there was no robot to attempt to disarm the bomb. Mr. White stated that the federal government did have surplus robots. One item that Mr. White had attempted to complete was networking, as indicated by the program’s title Federal Assistant Liaison Connecting Officials of Nevada – Networking Equipment Support Team. If the program was expanded to its needed size it would be able to work with the military to procure the type of equipment Senator O’Donnell mentioned. If the equipment was available on the federal level, and the agency could show the nexus for a need of the equipment to support law enforcement activities, it could be purchased. Mr. White stated that he would further research this subject and provide that information to the committee.
Senator O’Donnell asked if the agency would purchase the equipment, place it, and then serve as the mediator. Mr. White explained that the agency would assist the local agencies in locating or buying the equipment.
Mr. Richard Perkins inquired as to whether the savings would be larger than the $180,000 of the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Formula Grant (Byrne Grant) funding. Mr. Kirkland answered that there would be a large savings, and stated that Colorado and Arizona, in one year spent almost $700,000 on $2.8 million worth of purchases. He opined that there was opportunity for a substantial return on General Fund match dollars.
Mr. Perkins asked what the total of the Byrne Grant was. Sandra Mazy, Management Analyst II, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance, stated that Byrne Grant funding was $4,024,000 for the next fiscal year. This would be a slight increase over the current amount of the grant. Mr. Perkins stated that this agency had been criticized for having $4 million that was not going to local governments. He stated that in the previous three fiscal years $2.4 million out of an approximately $4 million Byrne Grant had been given to local governments. Many programs that were created through the agency were task forces involving other state agencies, earmarking the efforts toward the state. Mr. Perkins stated that there had been many changes in the agency, and he wanted to ensure that the agency was planning a change in the direction of the grant funds.
Mr. Kirkland stated that the agency had given direction to all employees to make the necessary changes in that area. The majority of the benefits of the grant program would go to local governments. The FY1999 Byrne Grant was $3.9 million and $1.5 of that went to the state. The agency was attempting to change this policy and use the grant fund in the proper area. He opined that if the 1122 Program was initiated the funds would be doubled or tripled in terms of value received by the local governments.
Senator Lawrence Jacobsen asked about the accountability for the equipment received from the programs. Mr. White explained that the Department of Defense had responded to the agency to complete an annual audit for the 1033 Program. There were two types of equipment that could be received through the 1033 Program. Demilitarized status equipment including rifles, helicopters, and urban rescue vehicles were tracked on a permanent basis at the state and local level. The agency signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Defense that stated the agency would track the equipment. When a law enforcement agency finished with the equipment received through the 1033 Program, the federal government required that the equipment be transferred to another law enforcement agency in the state. If the piece of equipment was not of demilitarized status, then the state had a surplus process for the equipment. He reiterated that the agency first followed federal regulations and then state regulations. If a state agency had received computers that they could not use, and no other agency could utilize them, the computers would be processed the same way as if they had been purchased.
Senator Jacobsen asked if there was confusion in regard to local purchasing for items used in fire departments and similar agencies. Mr. Kirkland stated that local purchases would become the property of the local agency. Senator Jacobsen stated that rural fire departments depended on the sale of equipment. Mr. Kirkland reiterated that once purchased the items became the agencies’ property.
Chairman Parks asked for comment regarding the Byrne Grant funds and the best allocation of the funds. Mr. Kirkland explained that Byrne Grant funds were a way to double or triple the real dollar impact. He explained that through the 1122 Program an item that would normally be $500 could be purchased for $250, for a $250 savings. When the agency examined other state programs, that was a real return that was a money multiplier. The total Byrne Grant issue was another issue that required in-depth conversation. The idea behind the program was to return money to local governments to maximize its use. Mr. Kirkland stated that the state was reducing the amount of task forcing, because metropolitan areas had the resources to deal with task forcing, and the division would rather give the metropolitan areas the money to complete the projects. There would still be task forcing completed in the rural areas.
The Chair asked if this program could only be handled at the state level, or if it could be handled at a local level. Mr. White stated that any local agency could access either the 1122 or the 1033 Programs through a state coordinator. The state coordinator had to be certified by the federal government. The federal government required that the governor of each state appoint a state coordinator, and that person handled all transactions. This ensured coordination with the equipment, auditing, and proper use of equipment.
Chairman Parks stated that the State Purchasing Division currently operated a surplus equipment program, and asked for comment about the duplication of effort.
Mr. White stated that regarding the Byrne Grant funding question the federal government required the state of Nevada to fund at least 62 percent of the total block grant to the local agencies, 5 percent of the grant had to be used in live scan operations, a statewide system of finger printing, 10 percent of the grant could be used for administration fees. The current percentage used for administration fees was 5.5 percent. With the addition of the 1122 and the 1033 Programs approximately 7 percent of the permitted administration fees would be used.
The agency had been working hand in hand with the State Purchasing Division, stated Mr. White. They recently had a meeting to discuss some of the issues involved. In the 1122 Program, the Purchasing Division had entered into an agreement to purchase law enforcement equipment. In conjunction with the division, Mr. White was going to be able to get the best value for the dollar. This would give the agency the option to pursue additional vendors that provided equipment to ensure that the best price was received. Mr. White noted that local law enforcement agencies that wished to purchase equipment did not go through the State Purchasing Division. Those local agencies might have the need for a minor amount of items that could be purchased through the 1122 Program. In the 1033 Program, Mr. White was working with Michael Kuckenmeister, Excess Property Officer, Purchasing Division. The 1033 Program allowed the agency to gather equipment for law enforcement agencies through the military. In surplus property agencies, every two weeks new surplus equipment was received and the federal agencies had first choice of this equipment. After the two-week cycle, then state surplus property agencies would be able to screen property for what they might need. Mr. White stated that the advantage gained from working with Mr. Kuckenmeister was that items for institutional use could be picked up through the surplus program that could not be gained through the 1033 Program.
Mr. John Marvel asked if this budget had been approved by the Governor’s Office. Mr. Kirkland answered in the affirmative. Mr. Marvel asked if the Governor had signed off on the budget and Mr. Kirkland replied in the affirmative.
Chairman Parks asked about the possibility of revenue to fund overhead costs. Mr. Kirkland explained that there were no known revenue sources, and to charge local agencies seemed to go against the intent of the program. He reiterated Mr. Perkins’ statements about the program’s intent being to provide more assistance to local law enforcement.
Senator Jacobsen inquired about whether consumables could be gained through the programs. Mr. White explained that those items could be obtained through the 1122 Program, and occasionally through the 1033 Program. He likened the 1033 Program to a swap meet, and said that the agency had received meals ready to eat (MRE). This was being addressed and a “team” concept with state and local agencies working together was being assembled. In rural areas there was not a great deal of equipment in excellent condition, and there was not the ability to go to Nellis Air Force Base to find the equipment. The agency was going to assemble a statewide system that would work together. Through the state-coordinated program equipment could be moved to smaller law enforcement agencies.
Senator Jacobsen confirmed that the equipment had to be related to law enforcement. Mr. White reiterated that this allowed for a broad spectrum of equipment including equipment for search and rescues, and natural disasters. Mr. White stated that the agency had received trenching tools, toolboxes, and vehicle maintenance tools through the programs.
The Chair mentioned that the agency had been able to supply the Department of Wildlife with approximately $115,000 worth of items. Mr. Kirkland stated that the MREs that the agency had purchased were purchased for 10 cents on the dollar. He explained that those programs required the agency to be opportunistic, obtaining items as they became available.
Mr. Perkins asked why the Byrne Grant cycle was added in the current year. Mr. White noted that there were currently applications for the new Byrne Grant cycle that would start July 1. The applications would be received at the end of the month. Mr. Perkins asked when the grant proposals were chosen and granted. Mr. White stated that that occurred before July 1. Mr. Perkins asked for a list of grants that were denied over the previous two years.
Chairman Parks confirmed that the agency’s staff was located at the Stewart Building.
DMV, MOTOR CARRIER – BUDGET PAGE DMV-38
Mr. Kirkland introduced Virginia Lewis, Deputy Director, Motor Vehicles, and Russ Benzler, Administrator, Compliance Enforcement Division. Mr. Kirkland noted that the committee had a copy of the proposed changes to the division’s organizational chart (Exhibit E). The chart was arranged as simply as possible. There was currently a standard director’s office, and an administrative services department, and the change was the proposed split between the director’s office and administrative services division. The net effect of the proposed change was to increase the FTE employees from 2,349 to 2,351.
Chairman Parks asked if Mr. Kirkland was aware of any proposed legislation that would have an impact on the proposed two departments. Mr. Kirkland stated that there were several bills that would place an impact on the division. He gave the example of a recreational vehicle licensing bill that would require a substantial increase in the number of employees needed to register vehicles in the state of Nevada. Mr. Kirkland was unaware of any legislation that would affect the organizational structure that the committee did not know about.
Mrs. Vonne Chowning noted that there was a bill regarding the privatization issue that would have an unforeseen impact.
Mr. Benzler began testifying on Budget Account 4717. He noted that this was one of four budget accounts within the Compliance Enforcement Division and it supported the division’s motor carrier unit. This account supported 37 employees who were responsible for ensuring compliance with the state’s special fuel tax and commercial licensing laws in order to collect and distribute the maximum amount of revenue available to the Highway Fund. The employees also collected and distributed vehicle privilege taxes to the counties. Mr. Benzler stated that the staff was responsible for ensuring that Nevada, as a member of the jurisdiction, remained compliant with the guidelines established by the International Registration Plan and the International Fuel Tax Agreement. Mr. Benzler noted that due to A.B. 584 of the Seventieth Session, which transferred responsibility for collection of taxes and fees imposed on certain fuels from Department of Taxation to Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, and revised provisions relating to imposition and collection of tax on certain types of motor vehicle fuel, the division had taken the responsibility of distributing all motor vehicle fuel taxes within the state. He explained that the FY2002-2003 base budget was developed in accordance with the budget instructions received from the Department of Administration.
Mr. Benzler made a correction to the budget narratives that had been previously given to the committee. The division had reported that the dyed diesel fuel receipts for FY1999 were approximately 928 million gallons and the FY2000 dyed fuel levels were reported as 951 million gallons. Those figures were actually for clear fuel as opposed to dyed fuel. The figures for dyed fuel for FY1999 were 255 million gallons, and for FY2000 167 million gallons.
Mr. Marvel asked if there were many violators of the dyed fuel regulations. Mr. Benzler stated that last session the dyed diesel fuel enforcement program had been emphasized. To date there had been 126 citations, and $153,000 in administrative fines.
Mr. Bob Beers inquired as to the percentage of tests that the numbers represented. Mr. Benzler stated the Highway Patrol would need to answer that because they issued the citations. Mr. Kirkland stated that the division would provide the committee with that information.
The Chair stated that in the performance indicators in the area of in-state and desk audits it appeared that the numbers were declining. Mr. Benzler stated that there was a decline in desk audits because of the definition of desk audits. In reviewing the numbers and the previous definition of desk audits, the division had a jurisdiction conduct an International Registration Plan (IRP) audit. A notice would be sent that a carrier owed money. The staff would then send a billing claim to the carrier. This process was not an actual audit completed by the division; the reduced numbers of desk audits reflected actual audits.
Mr. Marvel asked how the division planned on assessing the gasoline tax. Mr. Benzler stated that the tax would be at the supplier level and would mirror the special fuel collection. Mr. Marvel confirmed that that would require fewer audits. Mr. Benzler stated there would be a total of 183 suppliers. Mr. Marvel noted that revenues with the special fuel collections increased by approximately $10 million and asked if the division expected a similar increase with the gas tax. Mr. Benzler stated that under taxation there were dealers, but the principle had not changed. He opined that there would not be the same revenue increase that was seen with the special fuel.
Chairman Parks asked for comment on the out-of-state audits. Mr. Benzler stated that the out-of-state audits were supplier audits where the division was examining supplier records. In FY2000 there were 68 out-of-state audits completed. Mr. Benzler explained that this was based on the amount of time spent completing the audits, approximately 28 hours per audit. In assessing audit practices, the division determined that there would be a dramatic increase in the amount of time spent on the audits. The total time that would be spent was approximately 165 hours per audit.
The Chairman asked Mr. Benzler to speak on the individual decision units. Decision unit E-126 recommended five new positions, and there was a request for a third tax administrator. Mr. Benzler stated the request was in preparation for the gas tax program that would increase the total amount of gallons by approximately 935 million gallons per year. The tax administrator was for preparation of the transfer of employees from taxation to help provide a reasonable span of control and to provide oversight for the program. The three additional auditors would be incorporated into the existing audit staff to ensure that the gasoline supplier audits could be completed. Mr. Benzler stated that there would be a total of six people assigned to supplier audits. The program assistant was requested to assist with the administrative and support tasks associated with the program.
Chairman Parks confirmed that there were presently nine auditors that were working full time. Mr. Benzler stated that pre-audits were completed in the office, and then the audits were completed in the field.
Decision unit E-901 transferred three positions and associated expenses from the Department of Taxation, noted the Chair, and he asked for the date of the transfer. Mr. Benzler stated that by statute collections did not begin until January 1, and the transfers would not take place until January 1. The division had been working with Taxation on the transfer, and was attempting to come to an agreement where the transfer would take place at the end of October. This would allow the new employees to become familiar with the department and the program. The Chair confirmed that the three individuals were currently handling tax receipts.
Chairman Parks explained that decision unit E-127 included the implementation of the fuel tracking system, as well as Internet registration and fuel tax payment. Mr. Benzler stated that E-127 had two components. The first was to expand the funding in order to expand the contracting services, which would allow Internet filing of fuel tax returns and operating credentials. In addition to providing customers the convenience of updating accounts over the Web, this decision unit would allow Nevada to meet its Level 1 C-Vision employment, a requirement of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century. Each state was required to meet the mandates by September of 2003. Mr. Benzler stated that the services offered would serve as a platform to offer future technological advances to the business community.
With respect to the fuel tracking system, the division had received $100,000 in the Seventieth Session to begin the initial building of the fuel tracking system. Mr. Benzler stated that this was basically building a box where the information could be stored. What was currently being requested was to proceed to Phase 2, to create a Web page to allow smaller suppliers to take advantage of electronic filing without paying the expense of purchasing computer equipment. This phase would allow the division to take the box and begin removing Nevada specific information so that the division could use the information in evasion and underreporting issues.
Mr. Benzler stated that the final portion of this decision unit was for maintenance and storage fees for the biennium.
Chairman Parks asked if there would be any staff or operating efficiencies to be realized once the system had been implemented. Mr. Benzler stated that there were efficiencies to be realized. In the reconciling for the motor fuel tracking, last year the person assigned to reconcile the accounts processed 104,000 lines of information, and the system was capable of processing 653,000 lines per hour.
Mrs. Chowning asked about the processes being used in other states. She noted that there had been a low percentage of people renewing the driver’s licenses on-line, and asked if the division expected a higher percentage of use with this process. Mr. Benzler stated that in other states the percentage of suppliers utilizing the on-line process varied. In Montana use was mandated, in other states use was voluntary, and Mr. Benzler did not have figures regarding the amount of usage. He noted that in Montana between gasoline and special fuels there had been an increase in revenue of about $5.4 million in one fiscal year. An additional issue was that the discrepancy rate had dropped from 11,000 to 4,000. The division was implementing the system on a voluntary basis, until it was known that the system worked. Mrs. Chowning confirmed that the division did not have information regarding states with volunteer policies. Mr. Benzler said that that information could be provided to the staff.
Mr. Marvel asked if Daryl Capurro, Lobbyist for the Nevada Motor Transport Association, was in favor of implementing the system. Mr. Benzler said that both components of decision unit E-127 had the support of the industry.
The Chair asked for an estimate of the percentages of suppliers utilizing the system. Mr. Benzler stated that for the electronic credentialing system the target was 10 percent. With the electronic fuel tracking the division was looking at a 6 or 7 percent of users reporting.
Chairman Parks inquired how many users there were in total for the tracking system. Mr. Benzler said there were 183 gasoline suppliers that would be utilizing the system as well as 93 special fuel suppliers.
The Chair invited public testimony on the Motor Carrier budget.
The Chair recognized Mr. Capurro, who confirmed Mr. Benzler’s remarks about industry support. Mr. Capurro stated that this was an age with a higher use of electronics for reporting and payment of taxes, which would cut down on time needed for carriers and government to complete those tasks. It would also remove mistakes in the reporting system. Mr. Capurro stated this was extremely important because the bureau would begin the collection of gasoline tax in January. He opined the importance of having the taxation workers transferred in October. Both agencies had been working closely to ensure a smooth transition. The electronic tracking program would begin with diesel, and the gas tax would be added as it came on-line. He stated the gas tax was extremely important to track for reasons of reducing evasion. Mr. Capurro said that the Nevada Motor Transportation Association was a strong supporter of the effort to enforce the use of clear fuel on highways. The figures that were given indicated a significant drop in the amount of dyed fuel gallons that were imported into the state between 1999 and 2000. He explained that this might mean dyed fuel was being used on highways, but it did not appear that the increase in clear fuel matched the reduction in dyed fuel. Mr. Capurro stated that he believed one of the more successful public-private partnerships was the Lock Martin/Department of Motor Vehicles contract, which had Nevada on the Vista system with modules that had been added. He stated there were enhancements in the current budget that he believed were very important. Another point was that registering could be done on-line as well as permits. Currently an office trip was necessary to receive a permit, and for trucks that had on-board computers those permits could be secured on the highway.
Mr. Capurro indicated that the association was concerned about the proposed split in the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety. He stated that it was necessary to understand how the communication aspects between the enforcement arm and motor carrier operations arm would be handled. He finished his testimony by saying that the division had made great strides with respect to the implementation of the movement into the electronic age. The estimates of participation seemed low to Mr. Capurro, and he opined that large companies would go on-line immediately because they were equipped and staffed to do so. He stated that from the standpoint of vehicles affected the percentage would be larger than ten. As the smaller companies became familiar with the system they would utilize it, and at some time it might be necessary to have all companies using the system and it might be necessary to mandate it. Mr. Capurro believed the voluntary system was needed to start with, and assured the committee that large companies would utilize the system.
Mr. Marvel asked about the difference between dyed and clear diesel fuel. Mr. Capurro stated there was no tax on dyed special fuel. There was 27 cents of state tax and 24.5 of federal tax. This was a handy target for evasion. When companies discussed 52 cents per gallon of fuel it was important to ensure that dyed fuel was not being used on highways. Mr. Capurro said that he believed that there would be $6 to $8 million in increased revenue once the division implemented the system.
Mrs. Marcia de Braga inquired as to whether there was enough education on the difference between dyed and clear fuel. She noted that she had many calls from constituents and their main concern was whether a venture like custom farming, where vehicles that were used specifically as farm equipment but had to go across highways, would be included in the tax. Mr. Capurro stated that Mr. Dini had a bill that dealt with farm equipment and special mobile equipment and its exemption. The association had worked with Mr. Dini, ranchers and farmers, and the special equipment people. There was no guidance to the current language in the law concerning a vehicle that only occasionally operates on the highway, and that would be addressed this session.
Chairman Parks asked for comment on Nevada going to a mandatory program. Mr. Capurro stated that Montana, a state that had a mandatory program, was one of the most progressive states with respect to motor carrier administration. Montana had worked with Lock Martin significantly, and felt that they were in a position to mandate the program initially. He stated that Montana had more lead-time to ensure that smaller carriers and suppliers were familiar with the system. Mr. Capurro stated that in two years if there appeared to be a need to mandate the system he would support that.
Mr. Marvel stated he hoped that the state would not have to mandate the program. Mr. Capurro commented that mandating was a last resort, and all other options needed to be utilized, but if 95 percent of the people were in the program it would be beneficial to ensure all the people were in the program.
Mr. Kirkland thanked Mr. Capurro for his assistance to the department and stated that they were in agreement with a majority of his comments. He had talked specifically to the Governor about whether the proposed split of the department would cause problems and the Governor had made it clear that that would not take place. The division was slightly separated currently, but it all fell under Mr. Kirkland’s authority, which fell under the Governor’s authority. The proposed new director would also fall under the Governor’s authority, and the Governor was clear that if the split took place there would be no lessening of services. The division would improve services. Mr. Kirkland stated that the current problems were based on employee availability, experience, and training. It was difficult to provide the service that Mr. Kirkland believed the division should provide. Hopefully with the passage of different ordinances in the current session the division would be able to provide that.
VERIFICATION OF INSURANCE – BUDGET PAGE DMV-50
The Chair opened the hearing on Budget Account 4731. He recognized Virginia Lewis, Deputy Director, Department of Motor Vehicles. Ms. Lewis introduced Dana Mathiesen, Administrator, Central Services and Records.
Ms. Mathiesen stated that the Insurance Verification Program was a self-funded budget account that operated with revenue from fees charged for reinstatements resulting from no insurance suspensions. The purpose of the Insurance Verification Program was to verify that owners of vehicles registered in Nevada maintained liability insurance. The goal was to identify and reduce the number of uninsured motorists operating on Nevada highways. There were minimal requests in the budget account and no new staffing. Ms. Mathiesen explained that the section was requesting funding for one color printer, due to the fact that they were working closely with the insurance industry and were providing information to the industry. Currently the information was given in various shades of gray, which made it difficult to read. The color printer would be used to enhance readability of the documents.
Senator Joseph Neal stated that there were 64,213 suspensions for FY2000 shown in the performance indicators, and asked if that was correct. Ms. Mathiesen stated that the program had been operating on reduced production for the past year while they were fixing problems concerning matching criteria. The agency had previously attempted to match names, and was currently using an eight-digit vehicle identification number with an owner edit. During the time of the transfer the agency was sending only 250 insurance cards per day until the integrity of the program was ensured. Senator Neal asked if the performance indicator was skewed. Ms. Mathiesen answered in the negative.
Senator Neal asked about the number of reinstatements. Ms. Mathiesen stated that through July to December of 2000 there were 23,329 suspensions and 7,409 reinstatements. Mr. Kirkland stated that the documents that had been previously given to the committee were outdated and did not present accurate performance data. He stated that the committee would receive accurate information.
Ms. Mathiesen stated that there had been a meeting with the insurance industry representatives in September, and new performance indicators had been developed. The performance indicators were tracked effective October 1st, and this had resulted in a criteria change.
Mr. Marvel asked if the insurance industry was cooperative in notifying the agency when insurance had been cancelled. Ms. Mathiesen stated that the insurance industry and the agency had been working closely together. The two spoke on a daily basis to discuss discrepancies in the material or to ensure that the reports were matching. Mr. Marvel stated that this was important, especially to the rural areas.
Chairman Parks inquired about the relationship between the agency and major insurance carriers. Ms. Mathiesen stated that the agency kept records of the number of records received from each insurance company and the number of edit errors associated with those records. The agency would inform the insurance companies that were having high errors what needed to be done to correct the reports. With one large insurance company a tape had been sent where records were miscoded, and instead of terminating insurance records that were on the system, the records were deleted. The company sent a correction tape that had corrected half of the records and was currently in the process of correcting the other half.
The Chair asked when the agency anticipated reaching full operating level. Ms. Mathiesen stated that there were currently 500 cards per day being sent, and each of those was checked individually. The agency intended to increase that to 750 cards per day, but two new programs not related to insurance verification but rather vehicle suspensions were to be implemented shortly. Before the production was increased the agency wanted to ensure that the new programs would not corrupt any insurance verification process. Ms. Mathiesen stated that full production would be met in May or June.
Senator Neal asked what expectations the agency had for the program. Ms. Mathiesen stated that if the insurance companies and the agency continued to communicate and the agency was receiving accurate information, then uninsured motorists would be identified and sanctioned. Senator Neal inquired as to whether the identification of the uninsured would be provided by the insurance company. Ms. Mathiesen answered in the affirmative, and explained that the insurance company would provide a record whenever insurance was added, terminated, deleted, or rescinded. The agency matched those records with registration records. When the insurance terminated the agency would send the registered owner a card asking for verification of insurance. Senator Neal asked if the agency had received misinformation regarding insurance. Ms. Mathiesen stated that the agency had received misinformation, and said that when owners forgot to turn in their plates after storing a vehicle for the winter the agency would ask for verification of insurance. If this happened the owner would need to prove that vehicle was dormant for a certain period of time, and the incident would be resolved. Another instance was when the agency would occasionally get records from the insurance companies with misinformation, but that was generally resolved with the insurance company after the customer received notification. Senator Neal asked if this last instance occurred often to which Ms. Mathiesen replied that it occurred daily. Senator Neal confirmed that the drivers involved in misinformation instances were not punished.
Mr. Beers stated that he was concerned about the balance forward in the budget account. For the previous six years it had been approximately half a million dollars, and it was currently at one million dollars. He asked if the agency needed a reserve that large. Ms. Lewis stated that the one million dollar balance forward was to bring the budget in line with statute, which did reflect the million dollars. Previously the balance forward had been $500,000 and was not in compliance with the law. Ms. Lewis stated that the agency had operated with the $500,000 balance forward, and the balance forward could be reduced, but the million dollars was required by statute. Mr. Beers asked if the committee should introduce a bill to change the statute to $500,000. Ms. Lewis stated that the change in statute would not negatively impact the agency, and the excess revenue would revert to the Highway Fund.
Mrs. Chowning gave thanks to the agency for meeting during the interim about the implementation of Genesis. She noted that before Genesis exact match was not required and after its implementation exact match was required. Mrs. Chowning stated that it appeared that there was 67 percent acceptance of the program, and asked if this was correct. Ms. Mathiesen stated that the total records accepted were 67.8 percent and that did not include the total records that were being recycled and matched. That increased the current matching criteria to 73.92 percent, which was half a percent higher than it was on the Legacy System.
Mr. Kirkland gave his thanks to Dana Mathiesen and her team for their work.
Chairman Parks opened the hearing for public comment.
The Chair recognized James Wadhams, Lobbyist, American Insurance Association. Mr. Wadhams expressed support for the budget, and complimented the effort of the agency in fixing glitches of interfacing computer information. He stated that there were issues with the commercial vehicles that were not as easy to identify as individual registered vehicles and individual insurance policies. Mr. Wadhams stated that it was accepted that Mr. Kirkland and his staff would continue to work on that problem. He noted that there had been a significant amount of progress made in reference to Genesis and reiterated his support for the budget.
Senator Neal asked if the commercial vehicles were operated on the basis of a number. Mr. Wadhams stated that commercial vehicles generally operated off a federal employee identification number, but it was confusing because insurance policies did not typically identify vehicles by the vehicle identification number (VIN). He also noted that there were companies with slightly different names that when matched with master fleet policies could create some difficulties. Mr. Wadhams explained that the agency had been cooperative in attempting to minimize the cycle of rejections and resubmissions. Senator Neal asked what Mr. Wadhams suggested as the correction to the problems. Mr. Wadhams stated that this question was slightly beyond his technology capacity, but the agency had been meeting with commercial insurers to work out methods on a technological basis with the programmers. Mr. Wadhams stated that this effort was the reason he supported the budget. Senator Neal stated that the VIN numbers were different and that problems occurred when the organization that the fleet resided under was similar. Mr. Wadhams explained that the fleet policy was a master policy. The issue here was stated by the agency, and Mr. Wadhams reiterated that it was to satisfy the legislative mandate that vehicles registered in the state of Nevada were insured. Mr. Wadhams stated that there was no issue with insurance, but rather working through the computer system to minimize rejections when information was filed and it did not directly correlate with the agency’s records. This was similar to the consumer problem, but differed because there were no individuals and only multiple corporations.
Mrs. Chowning stated that the Interim Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Project Genesis/DoIT (Oversight Committee), Mrs. Chowning, Mr. Beers, Senator Neal, and Senator O’Donnell, worked during the interim very vigorously and hard with the agency and she gave her thanks to all involved. In regard to the verification of insurance problem, Mrs. Chowning noted that she was currently receiving no phone calls about the issue. If the industry was continuing to have problems, they were not voicing them.
Mr. Kirkland stated his appreciation of the efforts of the Interim Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Project Genesis/DoIT. The committee had assisted in resolving communication and other issues. He noted that one problem was that the systems were complicated despite efforts to the contrary. It was one reason why there was a request for additional computer programmers. The item that would make the system work was to be on top of the technology issues. Mr. Kirkland explained that the industry sent the agency tapes, and one computer talked to another. The problem occurred when the tape was not recognized by the agency’s computers. The money requested was essential to continue in the current direction. He reiterated his excitement with the job done by the agency’s employees.
MOTOR VEHICLE POLLUTION CONTROL – BUDGET PAGE DMV-55
The Chair recognized Virginia Lewis who re-introduced Russ Benzler.
Mr. Benzler stated that Budget Account 4722 was one of the four accounts assigned to the Compliance Enforcement Division. The 31 employees supported by the account were responsible for ensuring compliance with the state of Nevada’s air quality laws and regulations, found in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 445B and the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 445B. Employees in this budget provided training and certification for all licensed emissions inspectors, conducted inspections and audits of license stations, enforced the state’s opacity laws as related to heavy duty diesel vehicles, and inspected dealer inventories to ensure the presence of properly installed and operating emission equipment and devices. Employees also served on air quality boards and forums, provided assistance and acted in concert with the state’s environmental commission, cooperated with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, and interacted with local air quality agencies. Mr. Benzler stated that the department had not requested new programs in this budget account during the biennium. He noted that this did not mean that agencies supported by the budget would not be implementing new programming.
Chairman Parks stated that there had been meetings with Clark County officials where an increase in the $5 fee for the purpose of local programs had been proposed. He then asked if the department was equipped to handle the proposed fee change. Mr. Benzler answered in the affirmative.
Chairman Parks stated that in the performance indicators there appeared to be an unexplained difference of $118,000 between the five dollar fee times the indicated number of certificates issued. Mr. Benzler asked for further explanation from the Chair.
Chairman Parks stated that the department indicated that 968,450 certificates were sold in FY1999-2000. Based on the current fee of $5 set by statute, total certificate sales should have generated $4,842,250 in revenue. In FY1999‑2000 the department reported certificate sales revenue of $4,612,366, a difference of $227,884 compared to the number of certificates sold. Mr. Benzler stated that he was unable to explain the difference in the numbers.
Chairman Parks asked if there was anything in regard to collections or receivables that would explain the difference. Mr. Kirkland stated that the department was unaware of the issue and would research the matter.
The Chair asked for an update on the Onboard Diagnostic system (OBDII). Mr. Benzler stated that the agency had approached the Interim Finance Committee (IFC) for an appropriation to support the OBDII program. As a result the agency made the decision to not take funds from the reserve account, but rather charge a per call fee to offset the costs. Mr. Benzler introduced Jim Parsons, Administrator, Management Services and Programs Division.
Mr. Parsons explained that the contract with the equipment manufacturer, which would be supplying the analyzers that complete the tests, had been completed. The contract with MCI World Com to complete the database upgrades would be sent to MCI for review within the next few days.
Chairman Parks stated that he had received suggestions about the issue of exemptions. He stated that perhaps the exemption for new and first year re‑registration should be extended to a second or third year due to newer vehicles that were more fuel-efficient. He asked for comment on this subject. Mr. Benzler stated that from a program standpoint, the agency was able to make software changes within a few hours to deal with those issues. He explained that in the previous session there had been bills to deal with changing the new model and old model years. This was something that the air quality agencies should give testimony on. Mr. Benzler noted that new cars either “worked or they don’t.” Mr. Parks confirmed that new vehicles could have problems. Mr. Benzler stated that when new cars failed they failed very badly, and motorists were not aware of the problem.
Senator Neal asked whether the equipment that was presently being used to check emissions was connected to the main office in Carson City. Mr. Benzler explained that the equipment was connected to MCI World Com, which downloaded the data to the agency. The data would go over a modem line from the analyzer to MCI World Com, where the data was correlated and then shipped back to the agency and attached to a registration record.
A question regarding payment follow-up was asked by Senator Neal. Mr. Benzler stated that the individual emission stations were billed by MCI World Com. Senator Neal asked about the fee that was paid at the time of emission testing. Mr. Kirkland explained that the emission stations deposited the fees and records at the local DMV office. The transmission of the data occurred within seconds of the testing.
Senator Neal asked if the local DMV offices would have records regarding the number of inspections done at one station. Mr. Kirkland stated that the agency had that information and could analyze it for Senator Neal. Senator Neal reasked if the local DMV offices had those records. Mr. Kirkland answered in the affirmative, to which Senator Neal inquired how that information was received. Mr. Parsons stated that the information was transferred daily through several sources. The agency’s system collected daily transactions through the Genesis program, MCI World Com kept reports, and all employees in the field offices had access to the information.
Senator Neal asked if the local offices were tracking this information, and explained his concern was based on the previously discussed variation in calculated and actual money received from fees. Mr. Parsons stated that in purchasing certificates there were two methods. One was automatic clearinghouse (ACH) where the emissions analyst could purchase the certificates through the analyzer and those transactions were reported to the department daily. The other method was to purchase certificates through field offices, and then the certificates were downloaded through the analyzer.
Senator Neal asked who audited the number of blank certificates that were in an emission station at any time. Mr. Parsons stated that emission staff could audit the information. The agency’s technicians were required to visit the stations every 30 days, and the information could be audited from the analyzer or through the computer system. Senator Neal inquired if the audit numbers matched the number of blank certificates. Mr. Parsons stated that to his knowledge the numbers matched.
Mr. Benzler reiterated that there were required audits once a month. The audits would ensure that the emission stations were complying with the rules and regulations, as well as the machines were operating appropriately.
Senator Neal confirmed that the statutes regulated that the emission stations sent the agency $5 per vehicle inspection, and asked what the maximum charge was for the inspection of a vehicle. Mr. Benzler stated that the maximum fee was $27. Senator Neal confirmed that the station could make $22 per vehicle inspection.
Chairman Parks reiterated that of the fee charged by the emission station, $5 went to the state and the rest was kept by the station to perform the services, which included dialing MCI World Com, gathering the forms, and the acquisition of the testing equipment. Mr. Benzler confirmed that the money that was not received by the state went to the overhead costs of the station.
Mr. Kirkland stated that there was one station in Washoe County that did not charge the $2 above the $27 fee for the registration.
Mr. Parsons stated that the average inspection fee was $20.
Chairman Parks asked for comment on decision unit E-229, the transfer of the field service budget account. Mr. Benzler stated that the transfer was concerning positions that were transferred during the 2000 IFC. Currently the division was placing the money into the account. Ms. Lewis stated that historically there had been an allocation for technicians in the field. When the agency appeared before the IFC in December 2000, there was movement of staff. At that time there was an allocation from the budget to support field services. This had been discussed with the Budget Office and because of the technology that the emission program used, there was little emission program support from the technicians in the field. E-229 was eliminating the allocation from the budget account and was requesting that the Highway Fund Budget would support those positions.
Chairman Parks asked about the excess reserve grants approved for Clark and Washoe Counties. Mr. Benzler explained that the excess reserve grants were from the overall Emission Control Fund, and the agency supported the grants once the implementation portion of the budget was funded. If the grant requests pertained to an air quality program the agency had no problem with the grants. The Chair stated that in various fiscal years the amounts of the grants had varied significantly.
Mrs. Chowning asked how many emission stations were on-line with the DMV to complete the registrations, and asked if the issue of the added work involved with making daily deposits to the local DMV offices had been resolved. Mr. Parsons stated that there were three emission stations completing registrations, one in Las Vegas and two in Reno. In reference to the banking issue, temporary regulations had been implemented. One was to increase the fee that the station could charge to register the car, and the other was to allow them to go five days or to $10,000 without depositing funds. There had been 18 stations inquire about emission testing since the new regulations had been adopted, and the agency was currently evaluating the applications.
Mrs. Chowning asked if the regulations were items appearing before the legislature. Mr. Parsons clarified that the new regulations were implemented through the NAC. The regulations would need to be readdressed after July.
Mrs. Chowning inquired about the amount of the fee increase. Mr. Parsons stated that the existing regulation was $2 and the new fee was a maximum of $10.
Mrs. Chowning confirmed that the regulations were currently in effect, and asked if the increase in inquiries was related to the fee increase. Mr. Parsons stated that he believed that the increase in inquiries was due to the fee increase, but the agency had also lowered the amount of the bond from $100,000 to $50,000.
Mrs. Chowning asked how many of the 18 inquiries had been from Clark County. Mr. Parsons stated that a majority of the inquiries were from Clark County. The one emission station in Las Vegas participating in the program was Jiffy Smog, and he had installed laptops for customers.
Senator O’Donnell stated that there was a plethora of license plate designs, and asked about the idea of having one design with different endorsement stickers. Mr. Kirkland stated that that was agreeable to the department.
Senator Neal asked who would be responsible for reconciling differences found in the audits of emission deposits. Mr. Benzler stated that he was unaware of who would be completing the reconciliation. Senator Neal stated that there should be an employee within the department. Mr. Benzler stated that within the division audits were completed to ensure that the equipment was functional and the emission stations had the certificates they had been issued. There was no reconciling back to the deposits.
Ms. Lewis stated that there was an internal audit group of one in the director’s office, and if an audit from that level needed to be done it could be completed. The discrepancy that was mentioned earlier would be addressed through Administrative Services where the revenue section resided.
Senator Neal reiterated that there was a position within the department that could examine this issue. Mr. Kirkland answered in the affirmative. He stated that the employees that began the collection would be responsible to make sure that policies and procedures were followed, then it was turned over to the fiscal staff to verify the numbers. The auditor had the responsibility of conducting spot, routine, random, and directed audits. Finally there was the state administrative audit that could complete the audit. There were four levels that looked at collections.
Senator O’Donnell stated that there had been discussions regarding the new license plates for vehicles that had yet to be registered. Legislation that was passed last session required that each dealership place a temporary placard for the termination date of the 10-day or 30-day registration period, but there was an anomaly in the law where a dealer could roll the car. Mr. Benzler said that the dealers would roll the car on an interim finance permit, which allowed a person to operate off the dealership floor until all financing was approved, and once the financing was approved the person received the temporary placard. Senator O’Donnell stated that the car could be driven before the temporary placard was given, and this situation needed to be cleared up so that all cars that left the lot had to have a placard. He asked if there were any pending bills regarding this matter. Mr. Benzler stated that there was no legislation regarding this matter, but there was a need.
AUTOMATION – BUDGET PAGE DMV-68
The Chair recognized Ms. Lewis who introduced Chuck Conner, Data Processing Manager, Motor Vehicle Information Technology Division.
Mr. Conner stated that there were three main sections; application, which coordinated the programs and screens for the system; networks and systems, which was responsible for maintaining the hardware and software; and production control and help desk, which ran and distributed the daily, weekly, and monthly reports for the branch. He stated that some of the accomplishments for the previous two years had been stabilizing the Genesis application, converting the system from Windows NT to Windows 2000, converting the system from Power Builder 6.0 to Power Builder 6.5, and establishing the internet and voice recognition access for driver’s license and registration renewals. The objectives were to increase the use of the Internet and alternative technologies to decrease customer traffic in the offices and continually enhance the performance, design, and speed of the overall system to increase the customer service, maintain stability and achieve the greatest degree of customer and user acceptance.
Mr. Conner explained that the base budget had been prepared and submitted according to the budget instructions. He noted that he had previously served as the registration programmer for the Legacy system. With the Legacy system, Mr. Conner opined, it would not have been as easy to pursue the new technologies as it was with the current system. With the Legacy system there were approximately 500-600 programs, and 500 service requests. With the current system there were 1,400 programs and 1,600 service requests. A new programmer took at least six months to become productive in one area of registration. The application group was currently beginning to suffer burnout. There had been three individuals who had left this area. The reasons were too much work, too many problems, not enough staff, and being pulled in too many directions. Mr. Conner stated that losing 3 individuals in a 13-member group was a serious problem and put strain on the remaining programmers. He noted that on the Legacy system there was the ability to sit with the user and get familiar with the system, so that the programmer would be familiar with the user’s area. The programmer recognized problems before the user and corrected them ahead of time. With the present system, Mr. Conner stated, there was not the time, ability, or manpower to allow any employee to develop an intimacy with a specific piece of the system. The employees were continually reacting. Mr. Conner explained that there needed to be increased personnel to maintain and enhance the present the system. With the increased use of the Internet, digitized imaging, paperless titles, smog and registration stations, kiosks, the possibility of using PCs in the neighborhood library, plus new technical areas that were opening, there needed to be personnel to work in those areas. The personnel currently in place was only adequate to maintain the present system, and not to enhance the system.
Mr. Conner stated that in order to receive better productivity and performance from the system, the areas that were originally engineered to give the employee full empowerment needed to be streamlined. When the new system was designed the focus was the empowerment of the employee, but the reality was that the system should have been designed for the employee to get their job completed at a level of 90 percent and empowerment at a level of 10 percent. The numbers might be off, but the idea was that the employees needed speed, structure, and simplistic function, opined Mr. Conner. The employees needed to be able to complete their jobs as fast and efficiently as possible, in order to get the customers standing at the counter in and out. The system needed to be streamlined in areas to make the overall flow as quick and efficient as possible. Mr. Conner explained that the empowering philosophy had produced training, security, data integrity concerns, and performance issues. This was not the fault of the employee, but rather the fault of providing too many options that were not needed in the normal operation. Mr. Conner stated that in a normal operation the titles area took seven screens to complete a title, but it could be streamlined to two screens, which equated to lost time and inefficiencies. Mr. Conner said the system was, “a good system, it’s just over designed.” The DMV/IT had historically been put in a shortsighted position over the years of, “pay me now or pay me later,” until a critical point was reached, which the end result was the Genesis project. The division was now in the position to be an example to other states and customers of an environment where the policies did not dictate the customer service, but rather the convenience and satisfaction of the customer was primary. Mr. Conner noted that with the changes in technology the DMV would never be in a position of being static. There would never be a time when there was nothing to do, or no advancements to be made. The division was driven by customer service and must continue to have ideas on how to improve the speed of the systems. With the growing state the DMV would not be big enough or fast enough to meet the needs of the population, but the division needed to endeavor to show that they were willing to try to make the customer service the best it could be.
Senator O’Donnell noted that Mr. Conner’s presentation had been direct. He thanked Mr. Conner and Mr. Kirkland for the information. Senator O’Donnell noted that when Genesis was implemented it had not been implemented as he desired, and the problems and concerns were being reaped. Initially this project should have been built with state employees and increased the staff salaries to be commensurate with the industry. He asked what the division was paying an average programmer. Mr. Conner stated that top end was $58,000, and that was how he attempted to attract employees. Senator O’Donnell told the committee an antidote regarding the fact that programmers were important to the modern business world. He stated that the programmer positions needed to be funded at the highest possible amount, and the state needed to attract the best and the brightest. He reiterated that state employees should have been hired to complete the project, and noted that he had foreseen the problems now occurring.
Mr. Kirkland indicated his agreement with Mr. Conner’s comments and stated that those reasons were why the agency had asked for increases in this budget. Without additional programmers the agency would not be able to continue with the current level of productivity because of growth and would not be able to advance.
Mr. Beers stated that he had received a copy of the post implementation review, and asked for a summary of its contents. Ms. Lewis explained that the post implementation review was a snapshot of the system that was completed the previous fall over a four-month period of time. This had been worked through DoIT and the agency had entered into a contract with Analysts International in Las Vegas. Ms. Lewis’ feelings regarding the review were that the review was an outside agency’s observations and feelings about the system. There were some valid points brought up in the “lessons learned” portion of the document. There were items that Ms. Lewis was in agreement with including the system was complicated, there could have been better training, and a project of this size deserved a certified project manager. She noted there were certain standardized criteria in project management that were critical for a large project. Ms. Lewis explained that there were recommendations in the report that she was not in agreement with. She said that to freeze the software and to redo the program was unrealistic, but while discussing issues with the DMV’s information technology staff the department’s approach was to look at different components of the application and find efficiencies. Ms. Lewis opined that the agency had lost sight of the fact that the counter technician would be using the computer on an everyday basis. She reiterated that the system was complicated, but said that the system had the capability to complete a variety of tasks. Ms. Lewis commented that the system had not been designed for the common tasks, but it could be enhanced and changed. She stated that the employees at DMV office windows were required to complete more tasks than they needed to complete. The system needed to evolve. Ms. Lewis reiterated that the report was completed by an independent consultant.
The Chair confirmed that the review was performed by Analysts International Corporation, and asked for information regarding the company. Ms. Lewis stated that the division had worked with DoIT to select the consultant, and in order to respond to his question she needed to return to the information provided when companies responded to the proposals. Chairman Parks stated that after he had read the report he would decide if that information was necessary.
Senator Jacobsen inquired about the training process. Ms. Lewis stated that she believed Senator Jacobsen was referencing the training that was provided to the DMV technicians on the applications. A new employee hired by DMV went through an eight-week training, of which five days was dedicated to the Genesis application. The new employees were walked through the different types of transactions. In the previous year, as the users became more familiar with the system there was an increase in productivity. Ms. Lewis stated that the employees had done an outstanding job working with the system, and they had had a “tough go of it.” She indicated that the division had not done a good job of training the employees, and in an ideal world the software would have been frozen and there would have been an adequate amount of time to let the users work with the application. Due to the time frame and the contract the division did not have this ability, and it was a lesson that the division had shared with other agencies that were looking at similar projects.
Mr. Kirkland stated that there were two types of training, the technical training and the customer service training. He felt that customer service training had not been completed previously because it was not funded. Mr. Kirkland commented that if the legislature desired employees to appropriately deal with upset people that have had to wait, then the employees needed to be trained on interacting with the people. With the turnover of labor within the department this training was an ongoing process. Mr. Kirkland stated that the department had determined that the training was working because the department was receiving positive letters and commendations. Statistically the division could show that complaints were down, despite the fact that there were an additional 100,000 people per year being served.
Chairman Parks asked if the requested 16 new positions for this budget would be working on enhancements for the Genesis system, and what the overall effectiveness of the agency would be. Mr. Conner stated that three of the positions were sunsetted positions that were due to leave on June 30th due to the elimination of funding. The positions were critical to the department and were currently working with the department. One of the positions was a systems position that was used for redundancies to protect the agency. Mr. Conner noted that 11 of the positions were application positions that would be used for supporting the programming, the software, and the users. Of the 11, 6 of the new employees would be relatively experienced to help immediately with productivity, and 5 would be novices that could be brought up-to-speed to assist.
The Chair noticed that there was a large increase in training for new positions and asked if that was for software applications. Mr. Conner explained there was no base of knowledge for some of the software that the division utilized, such as Power Builder. Power Builder was the screen formatter that controlled the user’s access at the counter. It was a relatively new product that Genesis brought in to make the process smoother, but it was making the process slightly more complicated and the knowledge was not in the marketplace. This meant that the division needed to complete training.
Mr. Kirkland explained that if the division had heeded Mr. Beers’ advice they would not have bought the Power Builder 6.0, but rather would have bought a .5 version. Mr. Kirkland stated that the division would be pleased to meet with the committee members again, either on an individual basis or as a whole committee. He noted that with each conversation with technical people he was provided with a list of 1,500–2000 repair tickets. That number was down from the 10,000 repair tickets, but was currently stagnant. There was a large personnel increase requested, but without the increase, Mr. Kirkland opined that the division would not be able to maintain the current level.
Ms. Lewis enlightened the committee about the fact that the division had looked at the number of repair tickets on the system in order to determine the level of staffing needed. What had happened was that the current organizational structure, with the 11 requested programs, identified where additional support was needed. Ms. Lewis gave examples of functional areas where there was a need for additional support. She noted that another plan that had been discussed was utilizing offices in Las Vegas. By hiring the 11 programmers and placing them in the Las Vegas area, two items would have been accomplished. The programmers would have been in an area where a majority of the users were, and it would give the programmers a true picture of the fieldwork of the users. Placing them in the offices was a critical learning tool for the programmers. Ms. Lewis stated that the other benefit of putting some of the requested positions in Las Vegas was that the division would be able to draw from a larger pool of applicants. The division had limited applicants in the north, and it appeared that they were coming from other agencies. She reiterated that it would be beneficial to the agency to place some of the requested positions in Las Vegas.
Chairman Parks adjourned the hearing at 11:00 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Andrea Carothers
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Assemblyman David Parks, Chairman
DATE: