BILL ANALYSIS SB 1 x3 Page 1 Date of Hearing: December 1, 2003 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Darrell Steinberg, Chair SB 1 x3 (Oller) - As Amended: November 24, 2003 Policy Committee: TransportationVote:15-0 Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill repeals the provisions of SB 60 (Cedillo) - Chapter 326, Statutes of 2003, a measure that, effective January 1, 2004, repeals the requirement that applicants for original driver's licenses and ID cards submit proof of their legal presence in the United States and requires the DMV to accept a federal individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or other identifier deemed appropriate by the department, in lieu of the applicant's social security account number (SSAN). FISCAL EFFECT 1)Substantial potential cost avoidance, about $34 million in FY 2003-04, $28 million in FY 2004-05 and $12 million annually thereafter, to the DMV from not having to process a projected two million additional applications for original driver's licenses and 500,000 additional applications for ID cards. (Motor Vehicle Account.) 2)Moderate cost avoidance, in the range of $250,000 primarily in FY 2004-05, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) by not having to study aspects related to developing a biometrics system designed to ensure applicants for a driver's license or an ID card don't already have one or the other. (GF) SUMMARY CONTINUED Specifically, this bill, an urgency measure that becomes operative January 1, 2004, repeals SB 60, the provisions of which do the following: SB 1 x3 Page 2 1)Repeal the requirement that applicants for original driver's licenses and ID cards submit proof of their legal presence in the United States. 2)Require the DMV to accept a federal ITIN, or other identifier deemed appropriate by the department, in lieu of the applicant's SSAN. 3)Require original or renewal driver's license applicants to provide documentation that they reside in California and require applicants for original driver's licenses or ID cards to present an ID document, acceptable to the DMV, for purpose of establishing their identity. 4)Require any applicant presenting an ITIN (instead of an SSAN) to the DMV to also present a birth certificate issued by a foreign jurisdiction, plus other documentation such as a Mexican matricula consular, a foreign passport, or a foreign driver's license. 5)Require the DOJ, in consultation with the DMV and other interested parties, to study the cost, feasibility, technological capacity, and privacy implications of developing a biometric system to protect the integrity of driver's licenses and ID cards. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author believes an individual should be required to show proof that he or she is legally residing in the United States before an application for an original driver's license or ID card can be accepted by the DMV. In addition, the author argues that an individual applying for a driver's license or ID card should continue to have to produce his or her SSAN as an appropriate identifier. SB 60 will, among other things, repeal both of these current requirements effective January 1, 2004. This bill would become operative on that same date, thus superseding the operation of SB 60. Senator Cedillo, the author of SB 60 and the principal coauthor of this bill, requests passage of SB 1 (3x) in order to reinitiate policy discussions regarding driver licensing for undocumented immigrants. Governor Schwarzenegger has expressed an interest in such discussions in 2004, but only if the provisions of SB 60 are repealed. SB 1 x3 Page 3 2)SB 60 Rationale . The author and supporters of SB 60 argue that repeal and modification of the DMV documentation requirements would result in potentially substantial improvements in public safety on California highways and would lower barriers to participation in the California economy for those persons who have not obtained a driver's license or ID card due to the SSAN requirement. The author of SB 60 argues that many persons who avoid the application process still drive motor vehicles and do so without any form of insurance because lack of an SSAN also precludes them from being insured. In addition, they drive on the highways without benefit of any formal education or training regarding California vehicle laws. The author of SB 60 believes that the benefits of eliminating the SSAN requirement for driver's licenses and ID cards far outweigh the potential costs of some persons, not legally in this country, obtaining public services. 1)Prior Legislation . SB 60 is similar to AB 60 (Cedillo) of 2002 and AB 1463 (Cedillo) of 2000, both vetoed by the governor. In his veto message for AB 60, the governor stated he had "agreed to sign AB 60 if its companion measure, SB 804 [Polanco], provided adequate assurance that an applicant lived and worked in California for fifteen months over the last three years and passed a background check that provided [several] protections?It is regrettable that the provisions of SB 804 fall short of meeting these requirements, making it impossible for me to sign either bill into law." 2)DMV Fee Increases . As part of the 2003 budget agreement, several DMV-administered fees were increased to generate an additional $161 million to the MVA in the budget year and $330 million annually thereafter. This bill avoids costs that would have consumed a substantial portion of this additional MVA revenue. Since the DMV never obtained the authority to hire additional staff and never received an appropriation of MVA funds to pay for the additional staff and resources needed to implement SB 60 in the current budget year, committee staff assumes only about half those initial costs would have been incurred in the current budget year, with the other half incurred in FY 2004-05, with ongoing annual costs starting in FY 2005-06. 3)History . SB 976 (Alquist) - Chapter 820, Statutes of 1993 SB 1 x3 Page 4 required all applicants for an original driver's license to document the applicant's legal presence in the United States. The requirement is 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. SB 976's sponsors claimed that the driver's license is 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. 4)Referendum . An ballot initiative to overturn SB 60 is currently circulating for petition signatures. Initiative supporters, in order to qualify for the March 2004 statewide ballot, must obtain at least 373,816 signatures by the December 7, 2003 deadline. If the initiative qualifies for the ballot before January 1, 2004, it would prevent implementation of SB 60 unless and until the ballot proposition is approved by a majority of statewide voters. If this urgency bill is enacted, the referendum would be rendered moot. Initiative supporters have committed to not submitting their signatures if this urgency bill is enacted by December 5, 2003. 5)Other Legislation . AB 1 (Benoit), introduced November 18, is identical to this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916) 319-2081