HOUGHTON — The expiration of Michigan Senate Bills 876-878, extending the renewal dates for driver’s licenses, CDLs, state ID cards and vehicle registrations until March 31, have left thousands of motorists in limbo.

Renewing licenses, vehicle registrations and permits has proven impossible for many due to the current inefficiencies and bad decision making on the part of the Secretary of State (SOS). The Copper Country has been no exception to the rule.

Problems with not having access to local SOS branch offices, except through the SOS website, which is hit-and-miss and the one telephone number for the main SOS office in Lansing often has waiting periods of up to, if not more than, an hour to speak to a human being, have left many confused as to how they can legally drive with no reasonable access to the SOS.

Locally, law enforcement agencies around the Copper Country have been dealing with frustrated residents experiencing those same issues.

Michigan State Police Calumet Post Sgt. Russell Larson said his post has received numerous calls from motorists asking what they can or should do until they can get an appointment at a SOS office.

“Basically, what we’re telling them is to try to get an appointment scheduled, and that we are not enforcing the registration violations at this time,” he said.

Larson said that as far as the state police are concerned, the legislature extended the renewal dates for driver’s licenses, CDLs, state ID cards and vehicle registrations through March 31. He said the state police are anticipating another extension through June 1, at least, if not later, so they are continuing their previous protocol in place before the end of March. That is the stance that enforcement action could not be taken, because of the actions taken by the legislature. In the meantime, the intension is to wait until the legislature returns from break to see what will happen, but it is expected at this point that they will extend the renewal expiration again. Larson said that while the State Police are following that protocol, other law enforcement agencies might not.

Keweenaw County Sheriff Curt Pennala said that his office has also received complaints from callers voicing their frustrations at not being able to contact the SOS, especially the elderly who do not have access to a computer.

“That’s been a real problem,” he said.

“As far as enforcement goes, we’re right along the lines of what the state police are doing,” said Pennala. “It is a friendly reminder of ‘hey, your tags have expired, you need to get them renewed,’ but as far as citations go, we haven’t written any, not since the beginning of the pandemic.”

There are people out there, Pennala said, who have been putting vehicles on the road that are not road worthy, claiming they have an appointment to get it registered with no intension of ever doing so.

“But, that’s the nature of the beast right now,” he said.

Those are the people Houghton Police Chief John Donnelly said his department is on the alert for. Since the March 31 expiration, his department is aware that they can issue citations for registration infractions. They do so with discretion. There are people who are struggling to avoid violating registration and license laws, while there are others who are trying to exploit the situation.

The issue has passed the one-year mark. The Detroit Free Press on Mar. 24, 2020, published an article titled ‘Official: Michigan driver licenses will expire due to Secretary of State office closures,’ reported that thousands of Michigan residents would see their driver licenses expire because of the closure of Michigan Secretary of State branch offices, an official confirmed.

Six months later, on Sept. 15, 2020, the Sturgis Journal reported that while some St. Joseph County residents have been able to get an appointment with Michigan SOS or renew their vehicle registration and tabs in a timely fashion, many have reported having the opposite experience.

The Journal went on to report that hundreds had scrambled online to book an appointment. Some had succeeded in obtaining an appointment before their license or plates expire. Others have been driving with expired plates or licenses for weeks or months.

The Journal went on to state that according to the Secretary of State website, offices currently provide in-person services by appointment or other “critical services” that can’t be completed online, by mail or at a self-service kiosk. Next-day appointments become available for booking the previous weekday at 8 a.m. and noon.

The Michigan.gov. website states:

“Many transactions, including vehicle registration renewals, do not need to be conducted in person, and should be done online at Michigan.gov/SOS. Automobile, motorcycle and watercraft registration renewals also can be completed at one of the 122 Self-Service Stations located around the state.”

As other local motorists have long known, however, these options are not always possible.

When calling the SoS phone number, the recorded message begins:

“We are experiencing a major technology upgrade. Your appointment at one of our branches may take a little longer. We appreciate your patience.”