James Fackler (Past Speaker)

James Fackler is the Assistant Administrator for the Customer Services Administration (CSA) for the Michigan Department of State (MDOS). CSA is the “DMV face” of the department. As an administrator for the Department, he helps with the development and implementation of new programs in addition to working through new legislative initiatives. Before moving to CSA, James worked for the MDOS for 13 years as a Legislative Analyst and Legislative Liaison for the Office of Government Affairs. In that role, James helped develop the initial Autonomous Vehicle legislation for the State of Michigan. In 2016, Michigan updated its AV laws and he was again involved as a DMV lead for the legislative process.

Due to his DMV experience in conjunction with Michigan AV legislation background, he was selected to be a member of the NHTSA sponsored, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Autonomous Vehicle Best Practices Working Group. This group was tasked with providing best practices and guidelines for states in handling the testing and future deployment of autonomous vehicles in the US and Canada. Currently, he is the vice chairman of the Best Practices Work Group. The group will be putting their report out the Fall of 2017.

James has a Master’s Degree in Forestry from Texas A & M University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources, Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan.