Landry has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency due to the outages, which have plagued the state since last month, frustrating residents.
The order lasts for 30 days. Officials have yet to identify the cause of the outages, Landry's release said.
In a press conference, OMV commissioner Dan Casey said he hoped that, by notifying everyone of the extension, the executive order would help people seeking to buy alcohol in state with expired licenses, as well as those who need to show their licenses to law enforcement.
Louisianans will still need up-to-date licenses to board airplanes.
Having fewer people using the system to renew driver's licenses should also free up space in the OMV database and lessen outages, Casey said.
“The idea is to keep the Class E drivers away which will free up the system and allow us to serve everyone else, he said.
Heavy traffic in the database, including from other states seeking information about drivers, appears to be contributing to system disruptions, he said.
Because the out-of-state database traffic is quieter on weekends, the OMV is opening eight offices Saturday for those in need of services.
Offices in Baton Rouge, Bossier, Monroe, Reserve, Shreveport and Winnsboro will be open from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., according to an OMV post on X. So, too, will New Orleans' Veterans Boulevard and Westbank's Oakwood Center locations.
The OMV encouraged people to renew their driver's licenses online when possible. It also urged Louisianans not to wait until the last minute to do so. Drivers' licenses may be renewed up to 180 days before their expiration.
The OMV's antiquated, 50-year-old software system is contributing to the outages. The agency is on the brink of picking a new system, which will take two and a half years to fully install, Casey said.
Landry's executive order will allow the OMV to skip a six-to-nine month procurement process for selecting the new system, Casey said.
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