Pub. 54 2013-2014 Issue 3

28  A TIME TO REFLECT — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 we had nowhere to go but up. We did just that in the next two years. At the end of the 2009 legislative session, we had achieved all three of our major objectives. The first two were close to what we set out to accomplish. We had a workable and fair documentary fee process in place that has resulted in dealers having the opportunity to recoup their respective fair and reasonable costs to process registration and title work. A lot of the credit for this new process has to go to the Office of Consumer Credit Com- missioner. Commissioner Leslie Pettijohn has to be applauded for her leadership. She grasped the business issues and worked tirelessly with us to solve them in a manner that was fair and appropriate for the citi- zens of Texas. Commissioner Pettijohn is representative of so many great staff leaders in state government. Absolutely nothing would have happened for us without their collective creativity, dedication and hard work. We had solid relationships again in Austin by the end of 2009 when I ended my tenure as the legislative chair of TADA. I knew then, as now, that we will not always prevail on every item of discussion. What we were assured of was a fair hearing on all mat- ters at any department. We listened to the legislature and executive branch again. We learned and acted on their needs and issues. I left my time with TADA firm in my belief that the legislative and the execu- tive branch would again listen when we expressed concern or brought opportunities for their consideration. I know that what we accomplished during my time paid off for the dealers in subsequent sessions. There is no one better in telling the story of what dealers mean for the economy of Texas than Bill Wolters. He just needed the ability to do what he does best. We accomplished this objective. The third one was really more of a “plus one” achievement. Texas Department of Motor Vehicles The creation of the TxDMV was the “plus one.”The birth of the TxDMVwas the ma- jor achievement of the 2009 session. We set out to restore the Motor Vehicle Board and I ended up leading a successful revolution for the motor vehicle industry as a whole in obtaining direct industry involvement in oversight of our business. My life’s experiences up to this point prepared me well to take on the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime. How many people get to be a revolutionary advocat- ing for change and then, actually be put in charge to see that it works? I firmly believed then, and even more so now, that the franchised dealer body would be better served by having our primary oversight administered by a new agency devoted to the entire motor vehicle industry. The weight and depth of the entire industry in its own agency, with its own board, would give us the clout to get things done that a small division in a larger agency (TxDOT) never could. This was a primary reason for decades of inaction on our business issues in the oldMotor Vehicle Division of TxDOT. The creation of the Department of Mo- tor Vehicles (TxDMV) was approved in the 2009 legislative session. The TxDMV began its operations as an independent agency on November 1, 2009. Governor Perry tapped me to be the Chairman dur- ing the summer of 2009. The remainder of the Board was named that October. I took to heart that I had essentially talked our way into having this new agency cre- ated. Now I had to make good on all the promises and rosy projections! I believed it was my responsibility to do all I could in terms of the development of policy, pro- cesses and personnel to ensure the success of the TxDMV. I never took up permanent residence in Austin or ran the day-to-day operations of the agency. Still, the effort to properly get the TxDMV going was pretty much a full-time responsibility during my service on the Board. I gave it everything I had and then some for nearly four years. I think it important to always remem- ber what has been accomplished at the TxDMV. As an industry, we have many successes to celebrate. Most of them are tangible and measurable. The measurable accomplishments are the deliverables that gave us credibility and inf luence to do more. We are generating new revenue for the state. TxDMV, because it exists and oper- ates efficiently, has created new revenue streams to support transportation main- tenance and construction that are now generating an additional $160 million in revenue each fiscal year. Increasing fund- ing for transportation without raising taxes or fees is delivering on the promise that TxDMV would do more than just manage our business. We would be so good that we would be helpful to others. All license and permit activities of the department have been streamlined. The