Pub. 54 2013-2014 Issue 3

29 2014 SPRING  A TIME TO REFLECT — CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 result is that new GDN licenses are taking 20 days instead of two months. Renewals which used to take a month are processed in nine days. More business is being done in Texas and it is bringing in jobs and revenue. Automated processes for virtually all Tx- DMV functions are being developed and are starting to be successfully put in the field. This has never happened anywhere else. For example, to haul overweight goods either in or through Texas, trucks must be issued a permit, pay a fee and use an assigned route. Prior to August of 2011, the Motor Carrier Division used permit of- ficers and paper maps to prepare all routes and issue all permits to haul goods. It often took a day or more to issue a simple permit. Heaven help you if you had to haul an oversized or overweight load. You were basically out of luck if you needed your permit the same day. We automated the process and made 95% of the permits avail- able for self-serves with 24/7 availability. The vast majority of permits are issued in a day or less. The result is more goods are being hauled across Texas. Without raising permit fees and by providing great service, the state has been bringing in over $30 million annually in additional revenue from permit fees. I may have been the architect of the cre- ation and initial management of the Tx- DMV, but it was never a one-person show. I look at my role as akin to the conductor of a train. The people supplied all the energy to fuel the effort. I provided the engineering expertise to guide it. I could tell a hundred or more stories about individual efforts that made the TxDMV a success. I think a few of them are a good way to end what has turned out to be a novella. My appreciation for what we have done starts with the elected officials, most no- tably Governor Rick Perry, and their staffs who supported and guided our creation. They continue on with more of the same tough love as they monitor the agency and demand even greater efficiency and excellence in its performance, as well they should. The roles of the motor vehicle trade as- sociations and an unlikely ally from the manufacturers in the success of the Tx- DMV cannot be minimized. At first, few association leaders and no manufacturer interests were on board with the idea or promise of a new agency. Frankly, most of them fought it initially. Once it took life and appeared likely to become a reality they jumped on board in a big way. Their critical roles still pay dividends today. My original idea for the governing board of TxDMV was to have a five-member