Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton wants to blow up the California Department of Motor Vehicles entirely, and he made his case Tuesday outside a DMV office in West Hollywood, framing it as the next front in his campaign to lower costs for California drivers.
Hilton, who has been endorsed by President Trump in the governor’s race, told supporters he would dismantle the DMV and shift its responsibilities to a mix of online systems and county-run offices. He’s also floating a flat $73 annual vehicle registration fee — a sharp cut from what some Californians currently pay, with certain registration bills climbing as high as $1,000.
The proposal carries echoes of a similar political moment more than two decades ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger rode voter frustration over vehicle license fee hikes under Gov. Gray Davis to the governor’s office in 2003, famously blasting Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” at campaign stops.
Hilton described the DMV as a “bloated, nanny state, bureaucratic agency” and argued that eliminating it fits into his broader affordability push. He noted that California is among a small group of roughly 10 states that still operate a standalone DMV.
“You’re being ripped off by your government,” Hilton said. “They are gouging you with the DMV and vehicle registration. They charge the highest vehicle registration in the country for the worst roads in the country.”
Under his plan, the state’s nearly 170 DMV field offices scattered across California would be repurposed as afterschool programs and job-training centers.
Hilton is scheduled to face Democratic rival Xavier Becerra in their first one-on-one debate, a CNN-hosted event set for Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. in Los Angeles. Hilton, who has pushed for multiple debates, told reporters he was glad to finally get Becerra “out of the basement,” pointing to his opponent’s limited public appearances since winning the June primary.
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Voters this November will decide between two Democrats — state Sen. Ben Allen of El Segundo and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim — for California’s next insurance commissioner. The job carries more weight than many residents realize: the office regulates whether insurance is available and affordable, and holds companies accountable, particularly as wildfire risk drives up premiums statewide. Last year, Commissioner Ricardo Lara introduced rules letting insurers factor in future catastrophe risk rather than relying solely on past data — a shift expected to push rates higher for many homeowners.
The Trump administration has backed off proposed housing rules that would have restricted how fair housing groups pursue discrimination cases. Nearly a dozen states, including California, sued over the rules in March, which threatened funding for organizations investigating bias based on sexual orientation, gender identity, language, criminal history or income source. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed last week not to enforce the restrictions, though separate litigation over a related grant program overhaul remains unresolved after a federal judge blocked those changes in August.
State regulators have ordered Health Net, one of the nation’s largest Medicaid insurers, to keep providing assisted living benefits through the end of the year. The company had planned to end coverage for some members as early as October, a move that would have affected roughly 3,500 low-income Californians who depend on the benefit to afford assisted living care.
Original source: CalMatters
