For decades, Californians have groaned about needing to visit or wait in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, but that may soon change if Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is elected.
Hilton announced Tuesday, Sept. 8, his plans to abolish California's DMV, which he calls a "monopoly," and cut vehicle registration to $73 per vehicle annually as part of his campaign to make the state more affordable for residents.
"We are going to shut down this bloated, nanny-state, bureaucratic agency that treats Californians with complete contempt," Hilton said during his announcement.
Affordability has been a key component of Hilton's gubernatorial campaigns, specifically highlighting the need for change as Californians face a housing and
affordability crisis.
"It does look like change really is coming to California," Hilton said in a social media post after winning a spot on November's ballot in the primaries. "If anyone is going to pull this state around, that is the plan. Change is coming; we are heading to Sacramento."
As part of his new plan, Hilton wants to decentralize much of the DMV's role by reallocating residents' registrations, titles, driver's licenses, and road test needs to county offices or regulated local providers.
Hilton would also want to remove the state's "value-based vehicle tax, transportation add-ons, local surcharges, and other stacked charges" to eliminate the "hidden Car Tax" many Californians feel they have to pay, and instead impose a flat $73 annual fee for every vehicle. Hilton notes in his announcement that this new flat rate should cover the cost of reallocating vehicle-related tasks to local governments.
Additionally, if elected, Hilton would push for a full audit of the DMV within the first three months after taking office. He would then draft and send a "No More DMV Act" to state legislatures to eliminate the Department of Motor Vehicles.
"The goal is a much smaller state back-end that does the work only government must do," Hilton's announcement reads.
In his announcement, Hilton also acknowledged California's need to maintain "secure records, legitimate licenses, and strong fraud prevention," tasks the DMV currently handles.
If the DMV were abolished, Hilton would plan to have "every county office and certified service center" connect to a new "secure state system" that would "use the same identity-verification rules and follow the same recordkeeping standards."
Hitlton's plan did not specify which department would take on this theoretical responsibility after abolishing the DMV.
Hilton's campaign says the $73 fee would reduce registration revenue from roughly $11 billion to $2.7 billion, raising questions about how funding for roads, local transportation programs and CHP would be replaced
Jonathan Underland, the campaign communications director of Xavier Becerra, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, released a statement in response to Hilton's plan.
"Nothing says 'safer roads' like outsourcing driver safety checks to the lowest bidder," reads the statement.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP candidate Steve Hilton announces plan to abolish California DMV
