For California Legislators:

California has a reputation as a state of extremes:

Extreme conditions
Extreme scandals
Extreme excesses

But even for California, this is extreme:

• Extremely inappropriate.
• Extremely aggravating.
• Extremely unsurprising.

It appears that while we peons are spending endless hours in lines outside the DMV, only to wait in more lines inside the DMV, and once our number is called, we can expect to be treated like scum…

Our legislators are not.

Instead, in Sacramento they have the option of strolling across the street from the Capitol to a private DMV office in the Legislative Office Building…

• Down a hallway that has no signs directing you to this DMV office.
• That has an unmarked locked door with a peephole.
• Because peon scum are not welcome.

Was I right?  Extremely inappropriate and aggravating, and totally unsurprising?

Check, check, check.

Especially since now, with the new, federally mandated REAL ID cards (a major SNAFU that merits its own blog), lines at the peon DMVs have gotten much longer.

And while we wait – and wait – these privileged few:

1. Current and retired members of the Legislature and Congress
2. Current legislative staff
3. Employees of the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Legislative Counsel and the Legislative Data Center
4. Elected and appointed officials

Can just give their private DMV a little ringy-dingy to make an appointment, and then register their cars, renew their driver’s licenses – or apply for that pesky REAL ID.

Or, hell – why not just take the morning off from work, do all three, and then have a nice, long, leisurely lunch?

Which you can no doubt put on your expense report.

And I’m going to verify that – once I’m done standing in line at the peon DMV.