HANSKA, MN—Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, Chair of the House Transportation Finance Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) roadmap released today by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) seeking $43 million in additional funding to fix the failed system.
"Minnesotans are fed up with the excuses from the administration on why this expensive system still doesn't work. Legislators were told prior to the July launch that the system would work , and that any problems would be addressed in short order. When the system failed, the Dayton administration insisted for weeks that issues were overblown, and would be resolved. Now, they're asking for an unrealistic and unacceptable $43 million on top of the nearly $100 million spent over the past 10 years with no guarantees that this new funding will be the magic bullet needed to make this system fully functional.
"The Department also makes the outrageous claim that 'in the absence of additional funding, the majority of these defects and gaps in functionality would remain unaddressed for the remainder of the FY 18-19 biennium.' This raises the question: What have you been working on for the past several months? Legislators have been assured repeatedly that progress was being made, but now apparently progress will cease without this $43 million ransom? This budget request makes clear the catastrophic failure by the Dayton administration to deliver a basic, functioning system, and that they lack the will or creativity to fix this problem beyond simply throwing more money at it. Minnesota taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill to clean up this mess, and deserve better than the plan that was presented today."
###