A bill state Rep. Ronnie Townsend,
R-Anderson, introduced to make the Division of Motor Vehicles
an independent department has come under fire because it also
would restructure the state transport police, which regulates
the state’s trucking industry.
The transport police’s 174 employees, 108 of which are
police officers, enforce federal safety regulations and make
sure trucking companies file the appropriate licenses and
registrations needed to keep truck fleets on the highways.
In 1993, state leaders created the transport police as part
of the state’s Department of Public Safety, which also
includes the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Rep. Townsend’s bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by
Gov. Mark Sanford, would place the transport police under the
control of a new Department of Motor Vehicles.
Rep. Townsend said the change to the transport police’s
structure makes sense because many of its record-keeping
functions overlap with the Division of Motor Vehicles. Putting
the two agencies under the same umbrella would give trucking
companies access to local offices and eliminate confusion.
"We wanted it to be a one-stop shop for the motoring
public," Rep. Townsend said.
But some state officials disagree, saying the change could
add a burden to an already overwhelmed Division of Motor
Vehicles and relax safety regulations on the trucking
industry.
The state House of Representatives passed the bill by a
97-13 vote on March 5. It was introduced into the Senate on
Tuesday and Rep. Townsend said the push is to have the bill to
the governor next month.
A main goal of the bill is to revamp the Division of Motor
Vehicles, which came under fire last summer when a new
computer system designed to streamline operations created
longer lines at offices statewide.
Jerry Allmon, owner of Concept Logistics, Inc., a Walhalla
freight moving company, doesn’t want to change the transport
police."The Division of Motor Vehicles can’t clean its own
house," said Mr. Allmon. "How are they going to handle another
agency?"
Rep. John Scott, D-Columbia, has said the transport police
would be weakened as an agency if separated from the Highway
Patrol, which now also is a division of the Department of
Public Safety.
J. Richard Todd, director of the South Carolina Trucking
Association, disputed Rep. Scott’s arguments. He said safety
regulations for the trucking industry are set by the federal
government and can’t be changed by the state without a loss in
federal dollars.
"There will be no deterioration of law enforcement because
we are not going to lose those funds," Mr. Todd
said.
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