Wherever the terms "motor vehicle department", "registrar of motor vehicles", "highway department", or "highway commissioner", or any derivative of those terms which, when used in context indicates an intention to refer to those persons or departments, shall appear in the North Dakota Century Code, the term "department of transportation", or the term "director of the department of transportation", as the case may be, shall be substituted therefor. It is the intent of the legislative assembly that the department of transportation and the director of the department of transportation must be substituted for, shall take any actions previously taken by, and shall perform all duties previously performed by the motor vehicle department, the registrar of motor vehicles, the highway department, and the highway commissioner.
N.D.C.C. § 24-02-01.2