Kevin Shweto, executive director of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, told the House Education and Public Works Committee that the DMV must modernize its IT systems and raise employee compensation to keep pace with population growth and federal requirements.

Shweto said South Carolina’s population has grown from about 4 million to 5.3 million during his tenure, increasing demand for DMV services while personnel and budgets have not kept pace. "We have grown since I've been here from as a state from 4,000,000 to 5,300,000," he said, and added the agency has not seen commensurate staffing growth.

Staffing, turnover and workforce profile

Shweto described the agency’s workforce profile and turnover: he said 87 percent of DMV staff are female, 51 percent are African American and many employees are single parents. He told the committee the agency currently experiences roughly a 33 percent annual turnover (about 500 of 1,500 employees), and that low pay leaves employees vulnerable to private‑sector recruiting.

Legacy IT, service risks and Real ID

Shweto told the committee the DMV runs on a legacy system called Phoenix and that a major outage cripples multiple state services at once: "We are operating on a system called Phoenix that existed before the turn of the century." He asked the legislature for funds to modernize and said past statewide modernization attempts in other states have failed when vendors were selected without sufficient capacity; he estimated only a small number of vendors can do the necessary work reliably.

On the federal Real ID deadline, Shweto said about 60 percent of South Carolina residents already had a Real ID and warned the committee lines and demand will spike as the federal enforcement date approaches; Real ID is required for air travel and access to many federal facilities. He urged residents to obtain Real ID early and underscored that the DMV’s modernization would improve security and service delivery.

Other operational notes

Shweto said the DMV will move to centralized card issuance in September (to strengthen card security), discussed centralized issuance timelines and described plans for mobile and electronic credentials as part of a longer modernization. He urged legislators to consider salary and modernization investments together so the DMV can recruit and retain staff and reduce fraud in benefit programs.

Committee reaction and next steps

Committee members praised front‑line staff and expressed support for modernization. Shweto offered direct contact information to members for constituent issues and said the agency will continue to brief the committee on modernization plans and funding needs.