Kevin Shweto, executive director of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, told the subcommittee that DMV operations face sustained staffing pressure, rising transaction volumes and an aging IT platform that the agency needs to modernize.

Shweto said the state population has grown from roughly 4 million to 5.3 million during his tenure and that DMV staffing and budgets have not kept pace. He described a roughly 33 percent annual turnover at the DMV (about 500 of 1,500 employees) and said many positions require training across dozens of legal and regulatory areas. He told legislators that DMV staff manage hundreds of statutorily required transactions and that continuous training is essential.

On identity and security, Shweto emphasized Real ID compliance. He said about 60 percent of the state currently holds a Real ID and warned that travelers without Real ID or a passport may be unable to board flights or enter federal facilities when federal enforcement tightens; he urged residents to obtain required documents and noted the extra documentation burden can fall disproportionately on people who have had name changes.

Shweto described the DMV''s core IT platform, called Phoenix, as legacy software written in COBOL and said modernization is necessary to prevent catastrophic outages that affect law enforcement checks, identity services and revenue transactions. He estimated modernization would cost about $100 million, argued the system is mission-critical and said the DMV has requested funds and pushed for long-term modernization for several years.

Shweto also said the agency plans centralized card issuance beginning in September: customers would wait for mailed cards after issuing rather than receive cards immediately at some local offices, a change he said is needed to add security features to cards and reduce fraud.

On public-safety topics, Shweto criticized current DUI enforcement as creating recidivism and described the volume of first-offense DUIs (an approximate annual average of 25,000 cases) to illustrate enforcement and public-safety challenges.

Shweto closed by offering his direct contact information for legislators with constituent issues and repeating the DMV''s request for modernization funding and increased resources to retain trained employees.

Lawmakers asked follow-up questions on Real ID documentation requirements, centralized issuance timing, and whether DMV functions (boat titling and other licensing) could be shifted from other agencies; Shweto said he would discuss cost and implementation details if members wanted to pursue additional responsibilities for the DMV.