Louisiana Governor Landry names State Fire Marshal to head Motor Vehicles office

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Gov. Jeff Landry named State Fire Marshal Bryan Adams as the new commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.

Landry said Deputy Chief/Chief of Staff Dale “Ed” Branch will replace Adams as state fire marshal. Adams aims to return to the state fire marshal’s office after he serves the OMV, the governor’s office explained.

“With a lifelong career in public service and his experience as State Fire Marshal, Bryan Adams is exceptionally qualified to lead the Office of Motor Vehicles. He is committed to modernizing the outdated OMV system to better serve the people and ensure it operates efficiently moving forward. I am excited to see Bryan Adams step into the role of Commissioner, and I am confident he will work tirelessly to ensure the OMV serves the people as it should,” Landry said.

Adams was appointed state fire marshal in January 2024. He has over 40 years of experience in fire service and plans to bring successful approaches to the OMV.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to enhance service delivery within another state agency. I am dedicated to improving our systems and ensuring that we provide exceptional services to our citizens. Our current system has faced challenges for too long, and I am eager to bring the successful ‘One Team’ approach that we implemented at the State Fire Marshal’s Office to the Office of Motor Vehicles. Together, we can make a meaningful difference,” Adams said.

OMV leadership changes amid system outage issues

Landry announced Friday that Dan Casey had resigned as OMV commissioner. The resignation came as the OMV system has been experiencing frequent outages due to its aging mainframe applications. In a March 21 statement, the Office of Technology Services (OTS) and Unisys have been actively investigating outages but hadn’t found the issue.

The governor said work to find a permanent fix for system issues continues. An executive order signed by Landry on March 20 declared a state of emergency and suspended late fees for Class E driver’s licenses up to 30 days past the expiration date. 

In other administrative changes at OMV, Landry announced Monday that Matthew Boudreaux will be the new OMV deputy commissioner.

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