At a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Department of Public Safety presented Senate Bill 3, as amended, a proposal to raise several driver licensing fees to address a projected shortfall in the driver licensing program. Angie Lemieux, director of Administrative Services for the Department of Public Safety, told the committee the driver licensing program is self-funded by fees deposited into the motor vehicle fund and that the last increase was in 2016.

Lemieux said the department calculated a five‑year actual cost per card (2020–2024) of $35.98. She noted that current standard license fees are $28, but $5 of that amount is sent to the highway patrol, leaving roughly $23 to the licensing program. Under SB3 as presented, the original and renewal fee for standard driver licenses and ID cards would increase from $28 to $38; original and renewal commercial driver licenses (CDL) would rise from $33 to $43. Reinstatement and other penalty fees would also increase in tiers tied to the underlying violation.

Lemieux said the department projects the increase would raise about $2.6 million per year and would keep the program solvent into the late 2020s depending on future salary policies and cost changes. She told the committee, “we will not make it through FY26” without changes. Senator Vilhauer asked the department to compare neighboring states; Lemieux said Minnesota was at $41, Iowa at $32, Wyoming at $35 and Nebraska at $29. She also explained that North Dakota’s lower card fee is supplemented by highway funds and that their program is not 100% self‑funded.

The committee took no final vote on SB3 and deferred action to a later date.