BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: AB 589
          SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN               AUTHOR:  cook
                                                         VERSION: 5/18/10
          Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell                   FISCAL:  yes
          Hearing date: June 15, 2010







          SUBJECT:

          Driver's licenses and identification cards: sex offenders

          DESCRIPTION:

          This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to  
          issue sex offenders distinctive driver's licenses or  
          identification cards that specifically identify them as  
          registered sex offenders and requires a registered sex offender  
          to carry his or her driver's license or identification card at  
          all times.

          ANALYSIS:

          To receive a driver's license or identification card (ID card),  
          a person applies and pays the required fee to DMV. For an  
          original license or ID card, a person must provide proof of  
          legal presence in the United States and other specified  
          information. To receive a driver's license, a person must also  
          take and pass a written driver's test, a behind-the-wheel  
          driving test, and a vision examination. 

          Existing law (Penal Code Section 290) generally requires persons  
          convicted of enumerated sex offenses to register with local law  
          enforcement officials within five working days of coming into a  
          city or county where he or she is residing or located if the  
          offender has no residence. Typically, a convicted sex offender  
          must update his or her registration annually within five working  
          days of a registrant's birthday. The obligation to register as a  
          sex offender is for life.  

           This bill  : 





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          1.Prohibits DMV from issuing a driver's license or ID card to a  
            person required to register as a sex offender, unless that  
            license or ID card displays a distinctive color, a distinctly  
            colored stripe, or other distinguishing characteristic.

          2.Mandates that DMV shall require a registered sex offender  
            applicant for a driver's license or identification card to  
            provide a current photograph and address verification as part  
            of the application process.

          3.Requires a registered sex offender to carry his or her  
            driver's license or identification card at all times outside  
            of his or her place of residence. 

          COMMENTS:

           1.Purpose  . The author introduced this bill to aid in the  
            identification of sex offenders in order to assist law  
            enforcement and others in keeping children safe. Although  
            information on sex offenders is available through the Megan's  
            Law database, the author notes that this information is often  
            of little use in real-world situations as it requires access  
            to the internet and time to locate a specific individual in  
            the database. 

            The author believes that it is necessary to have immediate  
            access to information that indicates whether someone is a sex  
            offender. He cites the example of campus security at a local  
            high school accosting an adult on campus and asking to see the  
            person's identification, a driver's license or identification  
            card. Under this bill, the presented identification would  
            indicate if that person is a sex offender, which would  
            facilitate appropriate action on the part of security.   
            Without this bill, the author asserts that a person might have  
            no identification, and campus security would have no  
            indication that a potentially dangerous person is on campus.

            Similarly, in searching for a suspect in a missing child case,  
            law enforcement could look to the special driver's license or  
            identification card in order to alert them instantly to the  
            presence of a sex offender, who may be of particular interest  
            in certain cases. The author introduced this bill because a  
            distinctive state driver's license or identification card  
            would provide a quick method by which to alert people to the  
            presence of a sex offender.





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           2.Mandate on DMV  . This bill mandates that DMV issue each  
            registered sex offender a driver's license or an ID card that  
            bears a distinguishing characteristic. To meet this mandate,  
            DMV would have to acquire information on the identity of those  
            on the sex offender registration list. This identification  
            information would have to be definitive in order for DMV to  
            avoid issuing a sex offender license or ID card to someone who  
            is not a registered sex offender, an action with potentially  
            grave consequences. DMV reports that it is unclear how it  
            could conclusively verify the identity of a person as a  
            registered sex offender, some of whom were convicted under an  
            alias. 

            In addition, DMV has recently concluded a five-year process to  
            develop a new contract with a private vendor to produce  
            California driver's licenses and ID cards. If this bill were  
            to pass, those negotiations would have to be reopened and the  
            contract rewritten. This would be an onerous and expensive  
            task.

            It is unclear under this bill when DMV would be required to  
            issue a sex offender driver's license or ID card. A driver's  
            license is valid for five years, so it is conceivable that a  
            registered sex offender could possess a license that remains  
            valid for several years after having to register.

           3.Purpose of a driver's license  . Existing law requires that to  
            drive a motor vehicle on a highway, street, or off-street  
            parking facility a person must hold a valid driver's license.  
            The only time one must carry a driver's license is when  
            exercising the driving privilege, though this bill attempts to  
            change that for sex offenders. In any other situation, one  
            need not carry a driver's license or an ID card. Therefore, it  
            is unclear how this bill's mandate requiring a sex offender to  
            carry a license or ID card at all times would be enforced. The  
            other 25 million Californians who possess driver's licenses  
            and ID cards will remain exempt from any requirement to carry  
            them. Thus, one would presume that a person not carrying a  
            license or ID card or not producing one when asked is,  
            therefore, not a sex offender rather than a sex offender who  
            is withholding or forgot his or her license or ID card. 

           4.Distinguishing notations  . Over time the Legislature and  
            governor have added three distinguishing characteristics to  
            the licenses and ID cards of Californians, as follows:





          AB 589 (COOK)                                            Page 4

                                                                       


                 Requiring that a driver's license or an ID card include  
               a distinctive mark (currently a red stripe) noting the year  
               of the holder's 21st birthday if it has not occurred by the  
               date on which DMV issues the license or ID card. Because  
               the driver's license is a primary form of identification,  
               the Legislature added this notation to make it easier for  
               retail sellers of alcoholic beverages to confirm that  
               buyers are at least 21 years old and therefore legally  
               eligible to make the purchase.

                 Requiring that a driver's license include a distinctive  
               mark (currently a blue stripe) noting the year of the  
               holder's 18th birthday if it has not occurred by the date  
               on which DMV issues the license. This enables traffic  
               officers to identify more easily those drivers who because  
               they are under 18 years of age, face certain limitations on  
               their driving privilege.

                 Noting with a the word "DONOR" and a pink dot on the  
               driver's license or ID card those who DMV knows are  
               enrolled as organ donors. Because motor vehicle accidents  
               are the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy people,  
               a person enrolled as an organ donor may very likely be  
               driving just prior to the time he or she becomes an actual  
               donor. The Legislature added the donor designation to the  
               licenses of those enrolled as organ donors in order to  
               facilitate confirmation of the wishes of a dying person at  
               a time when his or her organs are likely to become  
               available.

            The question this bill poses to the committee is whether it is  
            appropriate to create another distinguishing characteristic  
            for DMV to include on the driver's license. It is unclear,  
            however, how using the driver's license to assess a person's  
            sex offender status will be an effective tool in enhancing  
            public safety.  

           1.The San Diego Union Tribune  . This bill is among five bills  
            that arose from the heinous crimes that registered sex  
            offender John Albert Gardner III committed against teenagers  
            Amber Dubois and Chelsea King. (Of these five bills, only this  
            one will be heard in this committee.) Gardner's crimes  
            occurred in the San Diego area and precipitated both community  
            outrage and a campaign to reform the criminal justice system's  
            methods for protecting those vulnerable to attacks from sexual  
            predators.




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            In the wake of these crimes and the related legislation, the  
            San Diego Union Tribune editorial board undertook its own  
            comprehensive review of these five bills. In general, that  
            paper strongly favored all of the bills, except this one.  
            Editorializing about this bill, the San Diego Union Tribune  
            calls it "seriously flawed" and states two concerns:

               One, it is unlikely to have much practical impact. A  
               special license or ID would immediately tell a law  
               enforcement officer that the person is a sex offender, but  
               what would the officer then do with that information? How  
               would it help him or her?

               And second, such a distinctive license or ID would be a  
               "scarlet letter" that would unduly identify the offender  
               not just to law enforcement officers but to anyone looking  
               at it. Does the clerk at the grocery store who asks for  
               identification really need to know the person is a  
               registered sex offender? Why not require burglars or bank  
               robbers to also have special markings on their  
               identification? Wouldn't that be more helpful to the store  
               clerk or bank teller deciding whether to cash a check?

           2.Double-referral  . The Rules Committee referred this bill to  
            both the Transportation and Housing Committee and to the  
            Public Safety Committee. Therefore, if this bill passes this  
            committee, it will be referred to the Public Safety Committee.
          
          Assembly Votes are not relevant.

          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the Committee before noon on  
          Wednesday, 
                     June 9, 2010)

               SUPPORT:  More Kids (sponsor)
          
               OPPOSED:  None received.