Head of Louisiana OMV resigns, Gov. Landry announces Friday
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- Gov. Jeff Landry announced Friday morning that Louisiana OMV Commissioner Dan Casey has resigned as the state office continues to have outage issues.
The resignation comes as the OMV system has been experiencing frequent outages due to its aging mainframe applications. In a March 21 statement, the Office of Technology Services (OTS) and Unisys have been actively investigating outages but hadn't found the issue.
“I want to sincerely thank Dan Casey for stepping up to serve as the Commissioner of Office of Motor Vehicles at a time when most people would shy away from the position. Dan faced nearly impossible circumstances, including a system that was designed in the 1970s, with the demands of the 21st century. I am thankful for his leadership and wish him the best," Landry said Friday.
"During his time at OMV, Dan Casey has been instrumental in leading our agency to a clear path to modernization, and his leadership and vision have made a lasting impression. We wish him all the best in his next chapter," the Louisiana OMV wrote on social media Friday.
Landry said he will name an interim secretary in the near future.
State of emergency declared over system outages
The governor said work to find a permanent fix for system issues continues. An executive order signed by Landry on March 20 declared a state of emergency and suspended late fees for Class E driver's licenses up to 30 days past the expiration date. Residents will still need a valid, unexpired ID to travel outside of Louisiana since the Transportation Security Administration and law enforcement in other states will not recognize the extension.