The Indiana Law Blog

Indiana Law - Bureau of Motor Vehicle Scandal

"Kernan vows quick BMV reform: GOP critics call review a 'whitewash'" is the headline to this above-the-fold front-page story this morning in the Indiananpolis Star. The Governor's press release may be found here. It includes a link to the brief (10 pp. in all, including 5 pp of Findings and Recommendations) Carrington Report.

[Earlier ILB coverage of this story may be found here, at the old ILB location.]

I took a look at the State's BMV website, as I was not clear as to who reports to whom at the BMV. The "About the BMV" page shows a picture of the resigned Commissioner, but does not explain the BMV structure. There is also a link to photos of the BMV Deputy Commissioners. But there does not seem to be any place on the web where the members of the Indiana BMV Commission (i.e. the "BMVC", as oppposed to the "BMV") are even named.

[Update: A kind reader has pointed me to the Roster of State and Local Officials for 2003, which turns out to be a 235 page pdf document. The following are listed as members of the BMVC: Gerald B. Coleman, Indianapolis: Adolfo "Rudy" Olivo, Bloomington: Raymond H. Schelle, Muncie: and Patzetta M. Trice, Indianapolis.]

I then turned to the Carrington Report, which provides some explanation of the structure:

• Under I.C. § 9-15-1-1, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commission is a body corporate and politic, and though separate from the state, the exercise by the commission of the Commission's powers constitutes as essential governmental function.
• I.C. § 9-15-1-2 provides that the BMVC consists of the following five (5) individuals: four (4) individuals, not more than two (2) of whom may be members of the same political party, who: (A) shall be appointed by the Governor; (B) serve for a term of four (4) years; (C) may not hold other public office or serve as a state or local employee while serving as a Commission member; and (D) shall devote as much time as is needed to carry out their duties, but are not required to devote full time to their duties.
• The duties of the Commission are set out in I.C. § 9-15-2-1. The Commission shall do the following: (1) develop and continuously update the Bureau's policies; (2) recommend to the Governor legislation that is needed to implement the policies developed by the Commission; (3) recommend to the Bureau proposed rules that are needed to implement the policies developed by the Commission and require those proposed rules to be adopted under I.C. § 4-22-2; (4) revise, review, adopt, and submit to the Budget Agency budget proposals for the Commission, the Bureau, and the license Branches operated under I.C. § 9-16 including the budget required by I.C. § 9-16-3-3; (5) establish the determination criteria and determine the number and location of license Branches to be operated under I.C. § 9-16. * * *

The Carrington Report explains:

The Commissioner of the BMV serves as the chair of the BMVC along with four (4) Bipartisan voting members who are citizens appointed by the Governor. The BMVC under state law has considerable authority and responsibility for the operation of the one hundred seventy (170) BMV Branches and their one thousand six hundred (1,600) employees. The BMVC has recently not been as involved with Bureau policies and operations and only conducted meetings on a quarterly basis. Some meetings were cancelled because a quorum could not be reached. The perception of the BMVC is that it was a "rubber stamp" for the BMV.

All Branch managers and employees are BMVC employees. District managers and others "up the organizational lines" are BMV and regular state employees. BMVC employees and procedures are specific to the BMVC and differ in some respects from state procedures and policies. [see, eg, IC 9-16-4] * * *

Between $700 million and $800 million are handled by the Agency and over 10 million transactions take place each year. Fewer than twenty years ago Branches were operated by political parties. This Agency which can be compared to a large retail business needs to consider applying the most efficient structure, technology, and procedures now available.

Apparently "who works for whom" [i.e. the State (BMV) or non-State (BMVC)] is flexible, as the Star story today also reports:

In a related move, the commission that oversees the BMV's license branches [i.e. the non-state BMVC, which is headed, if I undertstand this correctly, by the head of the BMV, a state employee] voted to make 12 district managers commission employees rather than state employees. Commission members say that move, which will cost it about $500,000 annually, should improve accountability.

Posted by Marcia Oddi at February 20, 2004 01:33 PM