BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1XXX|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1XXX
Author: Oller (R), et al
Amended: 11/24/03
Vote: 27 - Urgency
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO FILE
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE : 10-2, 11/24/03
AYES: Murray, Ashburn, Brulte, Figueroa, Karnette,
McClintock, Morrow, Perata, Scott, Speier
NOES: Florez, Soto
NO VOTE RECORDED: Torlakson
SUBJECT : Drivers license eligibility: undocumented
immigrants
Repeal of SB 60 (Cedillo), Chapter 326,
Statutes of 2003
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill repeals the provision of SB 60
(Cedillo), Chapter 326, Statutes of 2003, regarding
eligibility requirements for an original drivers license or
identification (ID) card, including: (1) allowing persons
who do not have legal presence in the United States to be
eligible to apply for a California driver's license or ID
card, (2) permitting license applicants to submit a federal
taxpayer ID number or other identifier number deemed
appropriate by the State Department of Motor Vehicles,
rather than a social security number where required by the
department, (3) providing for a signed affidavit procedure
CONTINUED
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if the applicant does not have a social security account,
and (4) the study to be done by the Department of Justice
on the development of a biometrics system to protect the
integrity of drivers licenses and ID cards.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires all applicants for an
original driver's license to produce documentation that the
applicant's presence in the United States is authorized.
This requirement was enacted by SB 976 (Alquist), Chapter
820, Statutes of 1993, and was designed to make the
driver's license a more secure form of identification with
the intent of preventing undocumented immigrants from being
licensed or obtaining ID cards. The bill's sponsors
asserted that the driver's license was a "breeder document"
that is used to acquire other documentation and serves as
the most widely accepted identification to qualify for both
private and public sector services and programs. They
further contended that the law would improve the uninsured
motorist problem, reduce fraudulent applications for
government programs and benefits, discourage undocumented
immigrants from operating a motor vehicle, and generally
act as a deterrent to illegal immigration.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, some 30
states have established some type of legal presence
requirement related to driver's license eligibility. In
response to the passage of SB 976, the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) authorized a variety of birth
verification/immigration status documents that driver's
license applicants can submit for the purpose of
documenting legal presence. When an applicant submits a
specified document, it is reviewed for acceptability and
authenticity by a DMV field office employee. For
verification of Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) documents submitted by immigrant applicants, DMV has
direct computer access to the Alien Status Verification
Index (ASVI), an electronic intergovernmental-sharing
system provided by the INS to ensure only legally-entitled
aliens receive governmental benefits. When an ASVI inquiry
is initiated and the submitted documentation cannot be
verified, DMV undertakes a secondary verification by
submitting the duplicated documents to DMV headquarters
and, if necessary, the INS for more exhaustive review.
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DMV reports that it processed 6.5 million legal presence
documents, July 1998-June 2000, which included 2.2 million
INS documents. Approximately 1.4 million of the INS
documents were verified by the initial review but nearly 40
percent of these documents were submitted for secondary
verification. DMV indicates, however, that the number of
these documents that were eventually rejected for being
invalid or expired was very minimal. DMV has now conducted
the citizenship and immigrant status verification program
for nearly decade, yet there is little or no documentation
evaluating the effectiveness of the program. The costs,
however, of this activity are substantial. According to
DMV, it currently expends approximately $3.4 million
annually for this purpose.
Effective January 1, 2004, SB 60 (Cedillo), Chapter 326,
Statutes of 2003, allows an applicant for a driver's
license or ID card, except an applicant for a commercial
driver's license, who submits an affidavit, signed under
penalty of perjury, attesting that he or she is presently
not eligible for a social security account number, but who
submits a federal individual taxpayer identification number
or other number or identifier that is deemed appropriate by
the department, to submit those documents to the department
in lieu of a social security account number, and those
documents would be deemed acceptable until the applicant
obtains a social security account number. It deletes the
requirement that an applicant for an original driver's
license or identification card submit satisfactory proof
that the applicant's presence in the United States is
authorized under federal law. It also requires the
Department of Justice, in consultation with DMV and other
interested parties, to study the cost, feasibility,
technological capacity, and privacy implications for
developing a biometrics system that guarantees that
applicants for a driver's license or ID card are issued
only one driver's license of ID card and requires the
Department of Justice on or before January 1, 2005, to
report the findings of the study to the Legislature.
This bill repeals the above provisions of SB 60.
SB 60 also amended Section 12814.5 of the Vehicle Code
relating to the renewal of a driver's license by mail, but
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that amendment was superseded by SB 1055, Statutes of 2003,
which had a higher chapter number. It also makes a
technical, nonsubstantive change in Section 13000 of the
Vehicle Code. This bill would not affect either of those
provisions.
SB 60 was sponsored by California Labor Federation,
AFL-CIO, and the Lt. Governor. It was also supported by
local governments, labor groups, community based
organizations, immigrant rights and civil rights groups,
education, faith-based organizations and public safety and
law enforcement groups. Opposition came from the United
States Department of the Treasury, California Federation of
Republican Women, San Bernardino County Sheriff, and the
California State Sheriffs Association.
The author of SB 60 cited the following reasons for SB 60's
proposed changes in the law: (1) trained, tested, and
insured drivers enhance public safety, (2) ensuring that
all California drivers have access to vehicle liability
insurance will reduce insurance costs for all motorists,
(3) operating a motor vehicle is a vital key to
participating in the state's economy, and (4) existing
license requirements have "created an unfair and unjust
crisis that curtails economic growth and productivity."
The opposition believed that a higher threshold is needed
for a person seeking a California driver's license who are
not United States citizens and the United States Department
of the Treasury was concerned about the use of unidentified
taxpayer ID numbers.
Since Governor Gray Davis' signing of SB 60, a referendum
has been submitted to repeal SB 60 and several groups have
petitioned the courts to invalidate the provisions.
DMV estimated a cost of $63.6 million for SB 60 in 2003-04
to process what it estimates will be two million new
drivers who must take behind-the-wheel tests and 500,000
new applicants for ID cards. Fees charged to applicants
will offset $27 million of these costs, and savings from
elimination of the verification program will offset another
$3.4 million. The State Department of Child Support
Services indicates that use of a federal taxpayer ID number
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instead of a social security number may put the state out
of compliance with federal child support laws, affecting
federal funds for child support. Receipt of TANF
(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds may also be
at risk.
SB 60 Senate Floor Vote, 23-15, 9/3/03
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Burton, Cedillo, Chesbro, Ducheny,
Dunn, Escutia, Figueroa, Florez, Kuehl, Machado, Murray,
Ortiz, Perata, Romero, Scott, Sher, Soto, Speier,
Torlakson, Vasconcellos, Vincent
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Battin, Brulte, Denham,
Hollingsworth, Johnson, Knight, Margett, McClintock,
McPherson, Morrow, Oller, Poochigian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bowen, Karnette
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 11/24/03)
California Republican Assembly
Save Our License
The Federation for American Immigration Reform
OPPOSITION : (Verified 11/24/03)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
DLW:nl 11/24/03 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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