Steve Hilton, a longshot Republican candidate seeking California’s governorship, announced plans this week to dismantle the state’s department of motor vehicles, characterizing it as a “bloated bureaucracy.” The proposal includes establishing a fixed $73 annual vehicle registration fee and repurposing DMV office buildings for community use, such as after-school programs. Hilton unveiled the initiative at a campaign event outside a West Hollywood DMV location.
Hilton’s proposal would involve shifting certain DMV functions to online platforms and transferring routine vehicle title and registration transactions to county-level offices. He criticized the fiscal resources devoted to the department, noting that the state legislature allocated $1.46 billion to the DMV for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, and challenged the vehicle registration fees that California residents currently pay annually, which typically amount to several hundred dollars.
Realization of the proposal faces significant structural obstacles. The California legislature, where Democrats maintain supermajorities in both chambers, would need to approve any legislation to abolish the DMV. Additionally, Hilton confronts considerable electoral headwinds: Republicans have not secured a statewide California office in 20 years, and recent polling shows him trailing substantially behind his Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra.
Becerra’s campaign disputed the premise of Hilton’s initiative. Campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland contended that the proposal would compromise road safety, suggesting that outsourcing driver safety oversight to private contractors “at the lowest bidder” presented risks to public welfare.
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