COLUMBIA - After months of complaints about long lines and poor service at the Division of Motor Vehicles, a bill was introduced Thursday in the House that would make major changes at the agency.

Under the bill, the DMV would be removed from the Department of Public Safety and made a stand-alone Cabinet agency with the director appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

The DMV, which registers vehicles and licenses drivers, originally was part of the former Department of Highways and Public Transportation. During the 1993 state government restructuring, portions of the DMV were sent to the Revenue Department and other portions to the Department of Public Safety. The entire division was put under the DPS in 1996.

"DMV has been treated sort of as a redheaded stepchild; it's bounced around from one agency to another," said House Speaker David Wilkins. "Now it's going to stand alone. The governor's going to appoint the director. There's going to be a direct chain of command and accountability."

That's exactly what the DMV needs, said Gov. Mark Sanford, who appointed a task force to review problems at the agency.

"I think this bill certainly provides that accountability, and I'm very encouraged by the similarities between this bill and a lot of the recommendations included in the task force report. We've also said all along that taking a hard look at privatizing certain aspects of DMV was long overdue," Sanford said.

Public Safety officials wouldn't say whether they support the measure but said they would work with the General Assembly.

Under the bill, the agency would enter into contracts with public and private entities to administer driving tests. Drivers' license expiration dates would be extended from five to 10 years for most people, and drivers could get tag renewal stickers and registration from DMV offices, county treasurers' offices or private entities.

The DMV came under fire last summer when a new computer system was implemented and glitches kept residents across the state waiting for hours in long lines.

And problems at the agency go beyond long lines. Sanford's task force said the agency also has slow mail-in services, inefficient call centers, cramped facilities and a multimillion-dollar computer system that is not completely functional.