Lawmakers get assurances on $33.5 million DMV contract

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 | 10:12 a.m.

John Drew, acting director of the state Motor Vehicles and Public Safety Department, gave the pledge Wednesday to the legislators' Interim Finance Committee in responding to questions about the agency's Project Genesis.

Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who headed a subcommittee tracking the computer program since it went on line Sept. 7, asked Drew if the contracts would be handled "better than they've been managed up to this point."

"Obviously," replied Drew, adding that because of the rush job to overcome bugs in the Genesis program "we have not necessarily taken the time to do a complete analysis on everything we've done."

The exchange came as Drew told the committee that Deloitte & Touche Consulting, which designed and built the system, is getting another $500,000 for more technical advice over the next several months.

Beers said the entire project is budgeted for $33.5 million, and checks for $14 million of that amount already have been cut.

Beers also told the committee that the new program is doing a much better job of handling driver licensings and vehicle registrations compared with the startup period that resulted in people standing in lines at DMV offices for several hours.

He and Drew also said the DMV is looking ahead to enhancements such as Internet license renewals by late April.

In other action, the Interim Finance Committee:

The property includes 320 acres of brush-covered state land and 80 acres of contiguous land owned by the local Free and Accepted Masons lodge, near Western Nevada Community College in Carson City.