BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2026
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 2026 (Arambula) - As Introduced: February 17, 2010
SUBJECT : Standardized testing: matricula consular: valid
identification.
SUMMARY : Requires a test sponsor to accept the Matricula
Consular de Alta Seguridad (MCAS) issued by the government of
Mexico through one of its consular offices within the last five
years as a valid form of identification for purposes of
admitting a test subject to take a standardized test.
EXISTING LAW establishes various requirements and procedures for
test sponsors to follow in administering standardized tests for
admission to, or placement in, postsecondary educational
institutions and programs; and subjects any test sponsor who
violates the requirements or procedures of administering
standardized tests to a civil penalty of up to $750 per
violation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : Double-Referral : This bill has been double-referred
to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Purpose of this bill : Undocumented students attempting to take
standardized tests to enter postsecondary education graduate
programs find that they cannot meet the identification
requirements of test sponsors. This bill would require test
sponsors to accept the MCAS as a valid form of identification;
thereby ensuring undocumented students who wish to pursue
graduate school the opportunity to take the tests required for
admittance into these programs.
Current requirements : There are numerous test sponsors
conducting testing services in California. Test subject
identification requirements are established by test sponsors.
Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the
Graduate Record Examinations, requires test subjects testing
outside of their country of citizenship to present a valid
passport as primary identification. The Law School Admissions
AB 2026
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Council (LSAC), which administers the Law School Admissions
Test, requires a valid passport or government issued
identification from test subjects. ETS and LSAC do not accept
the MCAS as a valid form of identification.
Background on MCAS : Mexican Consulates have legally issued
matricula consular documents since 1871. Generally, the purpose
of consular registration is to enable consular officers to
provide protection and access to consular services, as well as
to help relatives and Mexican authorities to locate their
nationals abroad. In 2002, the Government of Mexico, through
the Mexican Consulates in the United States (U.S.), began
issuing the MCAS, a new high security consular identification.
The MCAS includes an official Government of Mexico-issued ID
number and bears a photograph and address of the Mexican
National to whom it is issued. Additionally, the MCAS has
various visible and hidden security features.
Acceptance of MCAS as valid identification : The MCAS is
recognized in California as valid identification for some local
government purposes. In 2003, at least 12 counties, 25 cities,
and dozens of police and sheriff's departments in California
accepted the MCAS as a valid form of identification.
Additionally, increasingly U.S. banking institutions are
accepting the MCAS. According to data from the Mexican
Consulate, as of July 2004, over 175 banks in the U.S. accepted
the Matricula Consular as a form of identification.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the reliability of the MCAS
as a valid form of identification. In 2003, in testimony before
the House of Representatives, the Assistant Director of the
Office of Intelligence for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) indicated that the U.S. Government's research on the MCAS
concluded that the MCAS is not a reliable form of
identification, due to the non-existence of any means of
verifying the true identity of the card holder. To address some
of the security concerns, the author has provided materials that
reflect the procedural safeguards and improved security features
of the MCAS that the Mexican Consulate has implemented since
2002. As previously noted in this analysis, this bill is double
referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee; questions
surrounding whether the MCAS is a reliable form of
identification fall within the jurisdiction of that committee.
Prior legislation : AB 99 (De Leon), Chapter 311, Statutes of
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2009, added the MCAS to the specified list of documents that a
secondhand dealer or coin dealer may use to verify the
identification of an intended seller. AB 442 (Arambula) of 2009
would have added the MCAS to the list of documents for which a
Notary Public may rely for purposes of identification in taking
acknowledgement of an instrument regarding the transfer of title
to property. AB 442 was vetoed by the Governor. AB 25 (Nunez)
of 2003, which died on the Senate Inactive File, would have
required state agencies to accept identification cards issued by
foreign countries if the card meets specified requirements. AB
522 (Diaz) of 2003, which was vetoed by the Governor, would have
required state agencies to accept identification cards issued by
the Mexican Consulate Office. ACR 229 (Diaz), Res. Chapter 187,
Statutes of 2002, urged city, county, and state agencies to
accept matricula consular as an official form of identification
SB 60 (Cedillo), Chapter 326, Stats. 2003, authorized the
Department of Motor Vehicles to accept a birth certificate
presented together with a matricula consular to establish proof
of identity for a driver's license application. However, this
provision was later repealed by 2003-2004 SB 1, 3rd
Extraordinary Session. SB 1162 (Cedillo), of 2005-06, attempted
to reenact provisions similar to those that were repealed in SB
60, but was vetoed. SB 804 (Polanco), of 2001-02, sought to
allow a person applying for a California Driver's License to
present a matricula consular for the purpose of establishing his
or her identification. SB 804 was vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Student Association
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960