California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton proposes Discarding DMV, cutting registration costs

ST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (CNS) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to abolish the California Department of Motor Vehicles as a stand-alone agency and cap annual vehicle registration costs at a flat $73.

Hilton announced the proposal outside a DMV office in West Hollywood as part of his “Califordable” campaign platform.

Under the plan, the DMV would undergo a three-month audit before being eliminated as an independent department. A smaller state operation would remain in place to oversee driver’s licenses, fraud prevention, REAL ID, records and other safety-related functions, according to Hilton’s campaign.

Routine vehicle title, registration and renewal services would instead be handled through county offices and certified local service centers. Hilton’s campaign said no DMV field office would close until an equivalent or better in-person service option was available nearby.

“California does not need a better DMV line. It needs no DMV line,” Hilton said. “This is the miserable symbol of this bloated nanny-state bureaucracy, bossing people around while charging a fortune for the privilege.”

Hilton also proposed limiting annual vehicle registration costs to $73. His campaign estimates the change would reduce state registration revenue from roughly $11 billion to $2.7 billion.

According to the campaign, the lost revenue would be offset through a separate proposal called “Operation Zero Waste,” which is intended to reduce state spending.

“If you can afford it, you buy your way out of the line. Everyone else takes time off work and hopes the person behind the counter can solve it that day,” Hilton said. “That is not public service. That is a monopoly that expects the public to work around the government.”

Xavier Becerra’s campaign communications director, Jonathan Underland, criticized the proposal.

“Nothing says ‘safer roads’ like outsourcing driver safety checks to the lowest bidder,” Underland said in a statement.

Hilton said DMV properties that are no longer needed under his proposal would first be offered to community colleges and apprenticeship programs for use as job-training centers. Properties that are not repurposed could be sold, he said.

The proposal would require legislative approval, including passage of legislation that Hilton’s campaign has dubbed the “No More DMV Act.”