The Alaska Department of Administration is advancing a plan to privatize the Division of Motor Vehicle offices in Eagle River, Homer, Tok, Valdez, Delta Junction and Haines, which would result in increased prices for Alaskans, according to the Alaska House Coalition. In response, legislators are planning on introducing a bill aimed at preventing negative consequences for Alaskans in each of the communities facing potential impacts.
House District 31 Rep. Sarah Vance spoke to her constituents on social media last week saying, “This is a budget proposal, it is not a particular bill or an action that is being taken. It is a proposal, an idea from the Dunleavy Administration on different ways that we could reduce the cost of government. The proposal is for DMV offices to transition to public private partnerships that would offer the same service. Because this is a budget proposal, it’s not something that is done arbitrarily. It would be a decision by the entire body. We heard from the administration about what their ideas are. I asked many of the questions that have been forwarded to me by many of you. The conclusion that we’ve come to is that we have a lot of grave concerns about disparities between the urban and rural communities.”
The Alaska House Coalition states that the elimination of DMV services in some of these communities would result in residents having to drive for several hundred miles for services, often times in deadly winter conditions in the event of a vehicle breakdown. If the facilities were replaced by private companies, the Coalition feels that the prices will double for key services.
Vance says she spoke with the DMV, “There have been improvements in DMV services, especially through COVID, we’ve had to fast forward our modernization. 95% of the services that the DMV offers, you can now do online or by mail. That is a major improvement from the options that we had before. They also have a call center, so that if you have questions about something, you can have that support. 95% of what you used to have to stand in the line for, you can now do online or by mail, which is really helpful to a lot of people. The DMV also mentions to me that they are working to partner with some of the senior centers to make sure that seniors’ needs are being met.”
No vote has been made on the proposal yet.