Governor Malloy is threatening possible legal action if an automobile club follows through with its plans to stop providing driver licensing services to non-members.  AAA Northeast indicated in a letter to the state that they plan on implementing the change as of Monday. 

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has been trying to reduce wait times at DMV branches ever since a major computer upgrade brought services to a halt last summer.  In the wake of the several hours long wait times, DMV officials directed people to use AAA offices for driver licensing services. 

Governor Dannel Malloy is urging AAA Northeast to reconsider its decision to discontinue offering the services for people who are not members of their motor clubs.  Malloy said the state will not allow the actions of AAA Northeast to disrupt the DMV's progress in reducing wait times for customers.

AAA Northeast says they can no longer effectively service the volume of DMV customers visiting their offices without negatively impacting services to members.  The motor club cited two reasons for the decision.  One is that the federally secure licensing requirement mandated by the Department of Homeland Security has added as much as 50% to the time needed to complete the transactions.  Another is that the number of office transactions has nearly doubled and the number of non-member transactions has increased from 17% five years ago to almost 50% in 2016.

AAA Northeast serves nearly 600,000 members through a network of branch offices in Branford, Hamden, Fairfield, Norwalk, Waterbury, Danbury, Stamford and Milford, and offers DMV services six days a week at all eight of its offices free of charge to its members.

AAA Northeast President & CEO Mark Shaw says he hopes they can work together with the DMV to find a solution that helps meet the expectations of members while keeping the lines at DMV offices from getting unbearably longer.