BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2189 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: cedillo VERSION: 8/24/2012 Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: yes Hearing date: August 28, 2012 SUBJECT: Driver's licenses DESCRIPTION: This bill allows a vehicle rental company to verify a renter's identity by comparison of the driver's license photograph to the driver renting the vehicle, creates an exemption from the verification requirement for a rental company that is located remotely, and specifies that a person whose presence in the United States is authorized by federal law, but who is ineligible for a social security number, is eligible to obtain a driver's license in California. ANALYSIS: Existing law defines a rental company as a person or entity in the business of renting passenger vehicles to the public. Besides traditional car rental companies at airports and other commercial locations, new business models have emerged such as the development of a new car rental business model knowing as "car sharing." A person who wishes to use the services of a car sharing program does not have to go into a rental car company's office; he or she may sign up for membership online, and after the company checks the person's driving record, is provided with a card which enables the person to rent a vehicle on an hourly or daily basis. As such, reservations for a car can be made by simply going online or using a mobile phone application. Existing law requires any rental company to verify that the driver seeking to rent a vehicle is licensed within the state or country he or she lives. The company is required also to inspect the driver's license of the renter and verify his or her identity by comparing the signature on the license with the signature of the individual renter. AB 2189 (CEDILLO) Page 2 Before issuing an original driver's license or identification card, existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to both obtain an applicant's social security number and verify that his or her presence in this country is authorized under federal law. If an applicant provides proof of his or her presence with a document that expires before the issued driver's license would otherwise expire, such as a limited time work visa, the DMV matches the expiration date on the license with the date on the verification document. On June 15, 2012, President Obama signed an executive order regarding the deferred action for childhood arrivals process, allowing undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to remain legally in the country. The policy, while not granting permanent legal status, allows these young immigrants to work legally and obtain driver's licenses and other documents. The order states that the Department of Homeland Security will no longer initiate the deportation of immigrants who came to the US before age 16, have lived here for at least five years, and are either in school, are high school graduates, or are military veterans in good standing. The immigrants must also not be older than 30 and have clean criminal records. Those who qualify will be eligible to receive deferred action for two years, subject to renewal. This bill allows a rental company to verify a renter's identity by comparison of the driver's license photograph to the driver renting the vehicle, instead of comparison of the renter's signature to the signature on the license. Additionally, this bill creates an exemption from the verification requirement for a rental company that is located remotely, such as a car-sharing business. Finally, this bill clarifies that a person whose presence in the United States is authorized by federal law, but who is ineligible for a social security number, is eligible to obtain a driver's license in California. Further, this bill specifies that a person providing documentation demonstrating acceptance into the federal deferred action for childhood arrivals program meets the requirement of legal presence verification and is eligible to obtain a driver's license in California. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . According to proponents, this bill modernizes existing law requirements for verifying that a person seeking AB 2189 (CEDILLO) Page 3 to rent a car is properly licensed and keeps California current with advances in technology by allowing rental car companies to utilize innovative car rental business models. In addition, according to the author, there are approximately 450,000 undocumented immigrants who might meet the requirements of the federal deferred action directive either now or in the near future. The author notes that, now that the federal government has authorized the presence of these individuals in this country, qualifying immigrants should be eligible to receive a driver's license. This bill ensures that those individuals who qualify for the deferred action can obtain driver's licenses. 2.Background . This bill was amended on August 24, 2012, on the Senate floor to include the language involving the eligibility of driver's license applicants. Prior hearings and related votes involved only the rental car provisions of this bill. This committee will be the first to vote on the bill with the driver's license eligibility provisions. 3.Are the eligibility provisions necessary ? Existing law enables DMV to adopt regulations and procedures for verifying that a driver's license applicant's presence in the US is authorized under federal law. According to the DMV, it accepts a number of federal documents to verify an applicant's legal presence in the country, and DMV does not indicate that the new deferred action for childhood arrivals program should pose any additional challenges to the verification process. In light of this, it is unclear that the eligibility provisions of this bill are necessary to implement the new federal changes. 4.Concurrence hearing . This bill was referred to the committee under Senate Rule 29.10 in order for the committee to review the new subject matter of this bill. On a concurrence hearing such as this, the committee may only take one of two actions: 1) hold the bill; or 2) return the bill to the Senate Floor for concurrence in Assembly amendments. Vote History: Senate Judiciary: 5 - 0 Assembly Floor: 76 - 0 Assembly Trans: 13 - 0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on AB 2189 (CEDILLO) Page 4 Monday, August 27, 2012 ) SUPPORT: None received. OPPOSED: None received.