New DMV director named

CARSON CITY -- A longtime state employee was named by Gov. Jim Gibbons on Wednesday to lead the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Edgar Roberts will become the department's director on Monday. He replaces Ginny Lewis, who retires this weekend.

Roberts is now the administrator of the DMV's Motor Carrier Division, which collects 50 percent of the agency's revenue. A DMV employee for 10 years, he has been working with Lewis on a smooth transfer into the new position, according to the governor.

Gibbons said Roberts' experience with the DMV and in the private sector gives him "the leadership the department needs as it moves forward."

Besides his DMV job, Roberts has served as co-chairman of the Governor's Climate Change Advisory Committee.

"I am honored to be appointed to the director position by Governor Gibbons," Roberts said, "I look forward to working with the agency's administrators as we face new challenges of implementing the Real ID Act and maintaining essential governmental services at our offices during this economic downturn."

The Real ID Act is a federal law passed in 2005 that imposes additional requirements on people before states issue drivers licenses or state ID cards to them. Applicants will have to prove citizenship and states will issue more tamper-proof licenses.

Nevada this fall began issuing licenses that contain hidden security features that make them more difficult to counterfeit.

All states have applied for extensions to the Real ID Act, which had been set to go into effect last May. Implementation now will not begin before 2010 and final implementation has been pushed back to 2017.