New Date and Location Announced for 2019 Region 2 Conference!

The 2019 Region 2 Conference is changing dates and relocating to another hotel. The original hotel, JW Marriott, recently informed AAMVA that it will be undergoing highly disruptive construction during the original dates of the conference and this would lead to a less than optimal conference experience for attendees. The new dates of the Region 2 Conference are June 24 – 26, 2019 and the new hotel is the Marriott Marquis Houston located at 1777 Walker Street, Houston, TX 77010, 713.654.1777. Please take note that the new dates have shifted one day earlier. The hotel is currently working to get our room block open and we will advise you and update the website as soon as we have reservation information. We apologize for any inconvenience these changes cause. If you have any questions, please contact us at events@aamva.org.

AAMVA in the News

Upgrading Your Wallet: How Soon Can I Get a Digital Driver’s License? 

You’re stopped by an officer on the highway who needs to see your driver’s license. A bartender requests proof that you are of legal drinking age. The boarding agent at the airport needs to make sure you are who you say you are. You’d typically pull out your wallet to grab your driver’s license. You reach for your smartphone instead. Such behavior isn’t the norm – yet. But about a dozen states are in various stages of testing mobile or digital driver’s licenses that operate on smartphones, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), which represents the departments of motor vehicles in North America that issue such licenses. Read more here.

Brandon M. Silk Honored with Hometown Bridge Dedication

Governor Janet Mills, the recently-elected governor of Maine, signed into law the first bill of her Administration honoring veteran Brandon M. Silk, who died in June 2010 in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan. The resolve names the bridge in his home town Orono, Maine as the “Brandon M. Silk Memorial Bridge.” Brandon is the son of Mark Silk and bother of David Silk. Mark is the Chief Detective for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a member of AAMVA’s Law Enforcement Standing Committee, the former chair of the DMV Investigator Integration Working Group and a former member of the Vehicle Standing Committee. His son, David Silk, is a detective for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Vice-Chair of AAMVA’s Internet Vehicle Sales Working Group. “While we can never repay Brandon’s sacrifice and service to our country and our state, enshrining his name on this bridge is a tribute to his life, his family, and his service to our country. It ensures that all those who enter his beloved home of Orono will know his name and his sacrifice for years to come,” said Governor Mills. “I hope that as the people of Orono and Brandon’s family drive across it, they will know our deep appreciation and everlasting gratitude for their son, and fellow Mainer’s, service.”

AAMVA’s Third Party Agents Working Group Seeks Your Input

The Third Party Agents Working Group has been tasked with developing interim guidance and a best practice document for administering and auditing third parties and vendors who process on behalf of jurisdiction agencies. At their first in-person meeting, the working group determined a survey would be needed to gather some information from AAMVA members. Responses will provide information to help working group members understand the current practices in place and related data. Please take a few minutes to provide your input before the March 29, 2019 deadline. Click here to access the survey.

Preparing for Automated Vehicles, Technical Assistance Now Available 

Automated Vehicle Technical Assistance is available! AAMVA and NHTSA recognized the need to provide educational-based technical assistance to jurisdictions as they expand their understanding of vehicle technology and develop a strategy to address AV testing and deployment. Technical assistance will be facilitated by AAMVA and conducted by jurisdictional subject matter experts and AAMVA staff. The costs to provide the technical assistance will be funded by NHTSA. Click here for a complete description of the available assistance and an application.