West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Story Archives

Updated Driver’s License Now Available

Gov. Jim Justice announced Wednesday that the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards with a new look and design that matches the state’s tourism branding.

West Virginians will soon have a new design on their driver’s licenses.

The new design features a background of the New River Gorge Bridge and uses the official state branding. The “Almost Heaven” tourism mark is also included on the back of each card.

West Virginians may apply for a duplicate license or ID card with the new design before their renewal period by visiting the DMV website at dmv.wv.gov or at any of the 25 regional DMV offices across the state.

TikTok Ban, Natural Gas Power And More Pass Senate

The Senate passed several bills Wednesday, including one designed to ban TikTok from government devices.

With Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, presiding, the Senate passed several bills Wednesday, including Senate Bill 426, which allows the state’s chief information security officer to establish standards for, and ultimately block or ban, access to technological services, apps, programs or products on government devices.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brook, made it clear on the floor that the bill, which originated from the executive, had one particular app in mind.

“This bill comes to us as a result of, I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with discussions regarding TikTok,” Weld said. “TikTok, as we all know, is the very popular social media platform, video sharing platform, that is owned by a Chinese tech conglomerate, ByteDance. It has been in the news recently, the federal government enacted a ban of TikTok on all of its systems due to privacy concerns, concerns that the app collects much more data than is needed for its intended purpose.”

An amendment to the bill introduced and passed on the Senate floor Tuesday would create exceptions for law enforcement purposes.

Also passed on third reading Wednesday were:

Senate Bill 188, the Grid Stabilization and Security Act of 2023, would encourage the development and implementation of natural gas electric generation projects. Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, and Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, voted against the bill.

Senate Bill 240 would require state board of examination or registration proceedings to be open to public inspection

These three bills now go to the House of Delegates for their consideration.

The Senate also took action on Senate Bill 128, amending the House amendment to the bill and passing the bill, with Sen. Smith voting against. The bill, which implements limitations on the governor or legislature’s ability to declare a state of emergency, now awaits the Senate’s request that the House concur on today’s changes.

To The Executive

The Senate also completed legislative action on three bills, including:

House Bill 2506. The bill allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to take advantage of modern advances in secure digital titles for property to create a title clearinghouse to produce titles for nonresidential businesses.

Constitutional rules were suspended to pass the bill the same day it was introduced.

House Bill 2029 repeals the creation of an all-payer claims database by removing the original authority provided to the Department of Health and Human Resources.

House Bill 2018 permits the managed care case coordinator to attend the multidisciplinary team meeting. Under West Virginia code, a multidisciplinary team must be convened within thirty days of the initiation of a judicial proceeding to assess, plan and implement a comprehensive, individualized service plan for children who are victims of abuse or neglect and their families.

Senate Bill 132 clarifies the criminal offense of harassment to include stalking as a form of harassment.

DMV Launching All-Digital Vehicle Titles, Registration Process

West Virginia is set to become the first state in the country to digitize vehicle titles and the registration process.

Drivers across the state can keep a digital copy of their titles on their smartphone as a result.

“This is an absolute milestone, not only for West Virginia, but maybe this entire nation,” Gov. Jim Justice said as he made the announcement during his regular COVID briefing Wednesday.

The registration process will be made available through an online portal on the state Department of Motor Vehicles’ website. Agency commissioner Everett Frazier is spearheading the change, and said it will make the process faster and more secure.

“The DMV processed approximately one million titles last year,” Frazier said. “First it’s sorted, sent to our title and registration section, then to data entry and finally our records department. I found this to be a very time consuming and insufficient process.”

He compared it to the agency’s past work launching the electronic lien and title (ELT) program for lenders.

“Before we implemented the ELT process, it took the DMV 30 to 45 days to process titles,” Frazier said. “Today, that work is being processed within a week.”

No official date has been set for the launch, but the portal is scheduled to be put in place during the first quarter of 2023.

State Agency Mainframe Repairs Expected By Thursday

A system-wide disruption to online services at state agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Resources and Division of Motor Vehicles could be resolved soon.

Last week’s equipment failure at the West Virginia Office of Technology has impacted online services for customers at multiple state agencies.

The state is working closely with the state’s third-party vendor, Park Place Technologies, with input from IBM and Ensono, to fix the problem quickly.

In an update to Gov. Jim Justice, during his regular briefing Tuesday, Chief Information Officer at the West Virginia Office of Technology Joshua Spence said repairs to a hardware component of the main frame have been completed and work on the software repair phase has begun.

“We are working on the software piece and still tracking the existing title of the current timeline by this Thursday,” he said.

The office of technology continues to work alongside affected state agencies and DMV driver licenses side-services are expected to resume imminently.

The West Virginia DMV recommends customers visit their website, for regular updates before visiting one of their regional offices.

Va. Woman Sentenced for Embezzling From W.Va. DMV

A Virginia woman convicted of embezzling from the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles has received a suspended sentence and probation.

Forty-seven-year-old Rhonda Ann Thomas of Bluefield, Virginia, was sentenced Wednesday in Mercer County Circuit Court.

Judge Derek Swope sentenced Thomas to one to 10 years in prison and then suspended the entire term. Swope placed Thomas on five years’ probation and ordered her to pay $13,000 in restitution to the state.

Thomas formerly served as the manager of the DMV’s regional office in Princeton. She pleaded guilty in March to embezzlement.