Kentucky bill that would allow 3rd party sites to renew driver's licenses could come with a cost

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A proposed Kentucky bill aimed at cutting down lengthy wait times and lines at regional driver's licensing offices may come at a cost.

Local DMV offices have seen long lines since at least late December. Some people reported waiting in line for as long as four hours just to get into the Bowman Field Driver Licensing Regional Office in Louisville, only to wait two more hours once inside.

The rush comes ahead of the May deadline for Kentuckians to get their REAL ID. In December, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was attributing delays to a statewide network outage.

Rep. Kevin Jackson, R-Bowling Green, has since filed House Bill 161 that would allow third-party entities to issue driver's license renewals.

If passed, places like AAA offices, insurance offices, or other government agencies would be able to apply and get approval from KYTC to do license renewals.

Jackson said the bill would cut down on wait times at the state's 34 driver's licensing offices. Twenty-eight other states already have similar rules in place.

But the legislation wouldn't come without a fee.

"On the average, it was $2-$5 more than what they would pay at the regional center," Jackson said Tuesday. "I know myself, and I think you would too, I would be glad to pay $2-$5 to stay in my county."

The legislation passed out of the state's Transportation Committee Tuesday. It still has to get through the full House and Senate for approval before it would be sent to Gov. Andy Beshear's desk.

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