BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 772|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 772
Author: Ammiano (D)
Amended: 7/15/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 3-2, 7/8/09
AYES: Wiggins, Kehoe, Wolk
NOES: Cox, Aanestad
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-30, 5/28/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : The Local Government Identification Act
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Local Government
Identification Act, which authorizes counties to issue
local identification cards (local ID cards) to persons who
can provide proof of identity and proof of residency within
the county, as specified.
ANALYSIS : State law authorizes the State Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue identification (ID) cards to
persons of any age. The ID card looks like a driver
license, but is used for identification purposes only.
Applicants for a state-issued ID card must verify their
true full name, birth date, and legal presence in the
United States. It is a misdemeanor for any person to
assist knowingly in obtaining an ID card for any person
whose presence in the United State is not authorized under
CONTINUED
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federal law (SB 976, [Alquist], Chapter 820, Statutes of
1993).
This bill establishes the Local Government Identification
Act, authorizing a county's board of supervisors to issue
ID cards to persons who have been present in the county for
at least 15 continuous days and who can provide proof of
identity and residency. This bill specifies the documents
that may be submitted as satisfactory proof of identity and
proof of residency. The bill requires a local ID card to
display, at minimum, the cardholder's name, photograph,
date of birth, and expiration date, but prohibits a card
from displaying the cardholder's gender.
This bill requires the county clerk to keep confidential
the names and other identifying information of applicants
and recipients of local ID cards. The bill prohibits the
county clerk from keeping a record of applicants'
residential addresses.
This bill permits the county board of supervisors to charge
a maximum fee of $15 for a local ID card for persons over
the age of 18 and a maximum fee of five dollars for a card
for minors and seniors who can present proof of age. The
county supervisors must provide for a reduced application
fee or a waiver of the application fee for low-income
applicants who can present proof of income.
For a county that chooses to issue local ID cards, this
bill requires every county agency, department, and office,
every city within the county, and every city agency,
department, and office within the county to accept a local
ID card as proof of identity and residency, except where
otherwise provided by law.
Comments
In June 2007, New Haven, Connecticut began issuing Elm City
Residence Cards, becoming the first city to offer local ID
cards to city residents regardless of citizenship status.
In November 2007, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
approved the City ID Card program, which is open to all San
Francisco residents regardless of their citizenship status.
San Francisco officials have issued more than 3,100 City
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ID Cards since January 15, 2009.
This bill allows counties to issue local ID cards that
banks may or may not accept as proof of identity. While
the USA PATRIOT Act requires financial institutions to
establish minimum procedures for identifying and verifying
the identity of customers, federal and state laws do not
prohibit financial institutions from accepting local ID
cards for the purposes of opening a financial account.
Eight local banks accept the San Francisco City ID Card as
a primary form of identification to open a bank account.
Whether banks in California accept local ID cards depends
on the reliability and integrity of a county's local ID
card program. Whether a county's local ID card program is
reliable and trustworthy depends on the county's procedures
for verifying a cardholder's identity and address and the
county's ability to produce ID cards with sufficient
safeguards against counterfeit reproduction.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/15/09)
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian Law Caucus
Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action
City of Oakland
Hermandad Mexicana Lationamericana
Mexican American Political Assocaition
PICO California
San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community
Center
St. Peter's Housing Committee
Task Force on the Americas
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie
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Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran,
Villines
AGB:do 7/15/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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