Governor Meets With Rev. Jesse Jackson On Drivers License Office Closures

“It is a racial disparity, but it also is not limited to that,” said Jackson.

 

Jackson and the House Black Caucus met with the Governor and Secretary of State to bring up their concerns Wednesday afternoon.

 

Besides Jackson’s claim that this makes it harder for black citizens to vote, Rep. John Knight sees it as a money issue as well. 

 

“In the budget, the language is there to fund the drivers licenses offices across the state. We increased the budget, by giving them the authority to raise fees which generated about 22 million dollars. The budget was cut by 11 million so that gave them a net increase of 11 million dollars in the public safety budget,” said Rep. Knight.

 

After sitting down with the governor and his staff, Knight says he’s satisfied with the outcome. 

The governor released a statement saying they have “agreed to work together to find solutions to further fund driver license offices in Alabama’s rural counties.”

 

Knight is still waiting to see just what those solutions are. 

 

“We had a very good meeting. We talked about both issues with the governor. I’m not going to say we’re on the same page necessarily but I think there is a meeting of the minds  so I think that it’s something that possibly can be worked out.”