The Meat & Potatoes: Rep. Wright Unveils Fee Office Reforms

Rep. Mark Wright unveiled a plan to change the way driver's license fee offices are awarded and where the profits go at a press conference in Springfield Monday. It came two weeks after the original announcement was postponed at the request of the Governor.

Under Wright's plan, non-profits would have to run the state's 183 license offices, with the profits going to an entity that benefits the entire community, no employee could make more than $100,000 a year and the state auditor would have more oversight of all the money being made.

"I think that's very important that we know how much these offices are generating and where the money is going to," Wright said.

Wright said his plan would end a tainted system that rewards political favors. Governor Blunt has given the offices to some of his political friends and campaign contributors. Democratic Governors of the past have done the same thing. Wright said it's wrong on both sides.

The key to Wright's plan: Local schools, health clinics, veteran groups or other organizations would receive the profits from these offices -- and not private contractors.

"That money comes back to Missouri citizens and to the community and we erase that public perception problem of this political cronyism and political patronage," Wright said. Currently, 37 offices statewide are run by non-profit groups, according to Wright.

But one contractor who runs a Neosho fee office said he attended the press conference to defend the job the current contractors are doing. David Jerome said he received the office to run because he did good work for the Republican party, but also because he runs a good office.

"I want to represent the Republican party in a very positive way by running the best office that I can in my community," Jerome told me. Jerome also said that many of these offices are not as lucrative as they are being portrayed.

"There's more expenses under this administration than previous, so contract agents have to pay more of their own expenses than they did before," Jerome said. "Oh, by the way, fees haven't increased since 1998, but we're being asked to assume more of the cost in operating the offices."

Jerome said he didn't have a position on Wright's reforms. He said he would leave it up to the Governor.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue said contract agents are under attack and being "portrayed negatively" for no good reason. "I think that contract agents here today got a bad rap," said Maura Browning. "They do a good job."

Browning also said Wright's plan may not work because it's not practical. "I think that in some parts of the state you might have a problem in finding a non-profit. I think you'll run into problems. You're assuming that non-profits will want to run these offices and if they don't, that local government will," Browning said.

Springfield Democratic State Senate candidate Doug Harpool also attended the press conference because he said he wanted to hear Wright's ideas on the plan. Harpool had previously come out with his own fee office reform plan. Harpool doesn't go as far as mandating the offices be given to non-profits, but he agreed that they should get preference.

Harpool agreed with most of Wright's plan and said giving the state auditor more power to delve into profit margins would be an important step. "Right not the people oughta know what type of profit margin these offices are garnering," Harpool said.

The Department of Revenue said the contractors do not have to publicly disclose their profits. Harpool said the state has an interest in knowing the margin because if the offices are making an 80% profit margin, lawmakers may want to reduce fees so they only have a 40% or 30% margin.

"The only reason the Department of Revenue doesn't know the margins, is because they haven't asked," Harpool said.

While embracing most of Wright's plan, Harpool questioned the timing of the plan and said Democrats unveiled similar reforms in the past two years. "The idea and concept of the Democratic bills that have not even received a hearing or serious consideration by Republican leadership are almost identical to what now in an election year these Republican legislators have decided would be a good idea," Harpool said.

Wright said he wants to hear ideas from constituents on his proposal. He said he has not yet spoken directly with the Governor on the plan, but hopes to schedule a meeting soon.

(Sorry for the posting delay, I've been off and my Internet at home has been down . . . More on Fee Offices to come . . .)