Governor Gavin Newsom orders 'modernization and reinvention' of troubled California Department of Motor Vehicles

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has been struggling: long lines at offices, Real ID paperwork problems, and a Motor Voter mixup that left hundreds unable to vote while mistakenly registering others.

The troubled implementation of new programs left many Californians troubled with the agency.

That includes new Governor Gavin Newsom.

In a statement on Wednesday, Newsom said that the DMV, "Has been chronically mismanaged and failed in its fundamental mission to the state customers it serves and the state workers it employs."

That is why, in his third day in office, Newsom said he had appointed a state government management expert to lead a "modernization and reinvention" of the agency.

That expert is Marybel Batjer, the Secretary of the California Government Operations Agency (GovOps), which is tasked with improving the management and accountability of government programs.

Batjer will have six months to lead a "DMV Reinvention Strike Team" which will make short-term changes at the agency, and make recommendations for new long-term reforms.

It is a daunting task, and it comes as the DMV finds itself without a permanent director and facing an audit from the Department of Finance.

Newsom has asked Batjer to put extra emphasis on improving transparency, worker performance, speed of service and overall consumer satisfaction.