BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 60
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          Date of Hearing:   April 22, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                     AB 60 (Alejo) - As Amended:  April 16, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :  Driver's licenses: eligibility: required documentation

          SUMMARY  :  Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to  
          issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a  
          Social Security Number (SSN) if additional documentation is  
          provided, as specified.    Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the  
            safety risk posed by unlicensed drivers.  

          2)Provides that in addition to a SSN, applicants for a driver's  
            license or identification card may also provide other  
            documents as specified, that DMV finds clearly establishes the  
            identity of the applicant including:  

             a)   A valid consular identification document issued by a  
               Consulate from the applicant's country of citizenship, or a  
               valid, unexpired passport from the applicant's country of  
               citizenship;  

             b)   An original birth certificate or other proof of age as  
               designated by DMV;

             c)   A residential utility bill, lease or rental agreement,  
               or other proof of California residence as designated by  
               DMV; and,

             d)   One of the of the following documents, certified in  
               English translation or affidavit of translation if provided  
               in a language other than English:

                  i.        Marriage or divorce license or certificate; 

                  ii.       Foreign federal electoral photo card issued in  
                    1991 or thereafter; 

                  iii.      Official school or college transcript with  
                    date of birth or foreign school record with a seal and  
                    photo at the age when issued; 








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                  iv.       Federally issued Certificate of Eligibility  
                    for foreign exchange students;

                  v.        Filed property deed or title;

                  vi.       Property tax bill or statement issued in the  
                    last 12 months; 

                  vii.      Income tax return; or,

                  viii.     Other proof of California residence as  
                    designated by DMV.  

          1)Provides DMV the discretion to accept identification documents  
            other than a SSN from applicants under special circumstances,  
            including persons who have fled their country to seek asylum.   


          2)Specifies that documents used to establish proof of identity  
            are not public documents and prohibits DMV from disclosing  
            these documents for any purpose.    

          3)Deletes provisions that prohibit DMV from issuing a driver's  
            license to anyone who cannot establish legal presence.  

          4)Deletes provisions that allow DMV to issue a driver's license  
            to persons from another country that can establish legal  
            presence as approved by the federal government.  

          5)Deletes provisions that make it a misdemeanor for a person to  
            knowingly assist in obtaining a driver's license or  
            identification card for a person who is unable to establish  
            legal presence.  

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Requires applicants for driver's licenses and identification  
            cards to provide their SSN and proof of legal presence to DMV.  
             

          2)Requires DMV to verify the legal presence of driver's license  
            applicants. Pending that verification, the DMV may issue a  
            temporary license.  









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          3)Authorizes DMV to accept over 30 forms of documentation to  
            prove legal presence including a Canadian passport or a  
            foreign passport that is evaluated and approved by the United  
            States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for  
            purposes of establishing lawful presence.  

          4)Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly assist in  
            obtaining a driver's license or identification card for a  
            person who is unable to establish legal presence.  

          5)At the federal level, requires an applicant for a driver's  
            license to provide verifiable proof of identity, date of  
            birth, legal status, SSN, and address of principal residence.   


          6)Allows persons who are granted deferred action by the USCIS to  
            be eligible to receive employment authorization for the period  
            of deferred action.  

          7)Allows persons who are granted deferred action and employment  
            authorization by USCIS to apply and obtain a SSN.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  If enacted, this bill will likely result in a  
          significant increase in the number of original driver's license  
          applications, at the very minimum, for an initial period of  
          time.  The number of examination staff may be inadequate to  
          efficiently process these applications in a timely fashion at  
          department field offices.  Moreover, additional training will be  
          required for current staff on how to evaluate and verify the  
          authenticity of the additional documents that will be accepted  
          under this bill.  Lastly, AB 60 may cost the state in terms of  
          DMV hiring more staff and updating its information technology  
          system in order to process and record the additional  
          documentation that may be accepted under this bill.  


           COMMENTS  :  Senate Bill 976 (Alquist) Chapter 820, Statutes of  
          1993, required DMV to provide documentation that establishes a  
          "legal presence" in order to obtain a driver's license. This  
          legislation was designed to make the driver's license a more  
          secure form of identification and to prevent undocumented  
          immigrants from being licensed or obtaining identification  
          cards. In response to the enactment of SB 976, DMV authorized a  
          number of birth verification and immigration status documents  
          that applicants for an original driver's license or  








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          identification card can submit for the purpose of documenting  
          legal presence.  DMV's process to verify these documents  
          involves several procedures including having a trained DMV field  
          office employee physically review documentation, such as a birth  
          certificate, for acceptability and authenticity.  For foreign  
          documents submitted to establish legal presence, DMV cross  
          references for verification purposes the applicant's  
          documentation with the Federal Bureau of Citizenship and  
          Immigration Services' Systematic Alien Verification for  
          Entitlements database, an electronic intergovernmental-sharing  
          system set up to ensure that only legally entitled persons  
          receive government benefits and services.  

          State regulations specify the necessary documentation and steps  
          required for persons applying for a driver's license or  
          identification card including: information required to establish  
          legal presence, terms of issuance and restrictions, and SSN  
          verification.  Additionally, regulations require DMV to verify  
          the authenticity of any SSN provided by an applicant through a  
          number of methods including electronic verification systems and  
          manual methods.  DMV is prohibited from accepting an application  
          for a driver's license or identification card if the application  
          does not include a verified SSN  except if:  
           
          1)The application was submitted with documents that establish  
            proof of the applicant's legal presence in the United States;  
            and,

          2)The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verifies that the  
            applicant is in the country legally but is not authorized to  
            work, and is therefore ineligible for a SSN.  

          The issue of allowing the licensure of undocumented immigrants  
          has been considered almost continually by the Legislature since  
          the 1999-2000 Legislative Session.  Overall, almost every  
          proposal has died, been vetoed, or in one instance, been enacted  
          but subsequently repealed before its implementation.  The debate  
          surrounding this issue is traditionally cast as trying to assure  
          all motorists, whether citizens or not, are trained, tested, and  
          insured versus the notion that licensing noncitizens will reward  
          law breaking activity and encourage illegal immigration.  

          AB 60 attempts to introduce an alternative solution to the  
          address this public policy issue.  By using a model somewhat  
          similar to the State of Washington, a person unable to provide a  








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          SSN will have the option to submit several alternative forms of  
          documentation to show proof of identity and obtain a driver's  
          license.  The author asserts that by providing this alternative,  
          AB 60 will "improve traffic safety by ensuring that drivers on  
          the road are properly trained, have passed a background and  
          driving test, know state driving laws, and become insured."  

          Currently three states allow persons unable to prove legal  
          presence to drive legally.  The State of Utah administers a  
          two-tier system through the issuance of "driver privilege  
          cards", which can be used for driving purposes only and cannot  
          be used as proof of identity.  Washington and New Mexico allow  
          undocumented individuals to use a consular identification card  
          and foreign passports as valid forms of documentation to show  
          proof of identity.  Additionally, both of these states require  
          the applicant to submit several other forms of documentation in  
          order reaffirm identity and prove residency prior to receiving a  
          driver's license.  

          Similar to Washington and New Mexico, this bill will allow DMV  
          to accept a consular identification card or any unexpired  
          foreign passport, regardless of a person's legal status, as a  
          form of documentation to establish proof of identity.  In order  
          to obtain one of the abovementioned documents, a person is, in  
          fact, required to provide several forms of documentation to  
          establish proof of identity such as an original birth  
          certificate from the country of origin and proof of residence.   
          Moreover, AB 60 takes an additional step in attempt to provide  
          additional protections by requiring an applicant to provide DMV  
          with several alternative forms of documentation to establish  
          proof of identity.  
           
           When considering the merits of this bill, it is also important  
          to note the recently related actions taken by the federal  
          government.  DHS is currently in the process of evaluating the  
          progress of states' efforts in meeting Real ID Act compliance.   
          The Real ID Act intended to improve the security of state issued  
          driver's licenses and identification cards and includes certain  
          document and license issuance requirements including: enhanced  
          security features on the driver's license or identification  
          card, requiring SSN and date of birth documentation be  
          presented, and providing evidence of lawful status.   
          Non-compliant states will not be recognized for federal  
          identification purposes such as entering a federal building or  
          boarding an airplane.  Overall enforcement of the Real ID Act  








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          has been deferred several times with DHS now considering  
          granting deferments for states that are making efforts to attain  
          Real ID compliance.  

          Additionally, on June 15, 2012, the Secretary of DHS announced  
          that certain people who have come to the United States as  
          children and meet specific requirements may request  
          consideration of deferred action for a period of two years.   
          Under the deferred action program, approved applicants will be  
          granted deferred removal action which may stop pending  
          deportation proceedings or preclude the federal government from  
          starting deportation proceedings against them.  Moreover,  
          deferred action grantees are also eligible to apply and receive  
          employment authorization for the period of deferred action.   
          Upon receiving a federally issued employment authorization card,  
          an individual may apply (with additional documentation proving  
          age and identity) for a SSN.  

          In the previous legislative session, AB 2189 (Cedillo) Chapter  
          862, Statutes of 2012, ultimately brought state law into  
          conformity with the federal deferred action program.  Thus,  
          deferred action grantees residing in California now have pathway  
          to apply for a driver's license once establishing lawful  
          presence.  Overall, it is important to note that the ongoing  
          policy changes by the federal government make it is unclear as  
          to how the provisions specified in AB 60 will align with future  
          federal actions.  

           Previous legislation  :  

           AB 2189 (Cedillo and Skinner), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2012,  
          allows persons granted deferred action by USCIS to qualify for a  
          driver's license upon proof of legal presence.  

          SB 60 (Cedillo) of 2007, would have required DMV to issue  
          drivers' licenses and identification cards that are Real ID  
          compliant to persons who are not able to demonstrate legal  
          presence status.  That bill was vetoed by Governor  
          Schwarzenegger.  

          SB 1160 (Cedillo) of 2006, would have required DMV to issue  
          driver licenses, to persons who are unable to establish "lawful  
          presence", that permits driving but that is not acceptable,  
          under the federal Real ID Act of 2005, by federal agencies as  
          identification for access to airlines and other  








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          federally-regulated facilities.  That bill died on Suspense in  
          the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  

          AB 60 (Cedillo) of 2005, would have required DMV to comply with  
          the federal the Real ID Act and authorize DMV to issue driver's  
          licenses and identification cards to undocumented immigrants,  
          providing that the license or identification card clearly states  
          that it may not be used for any other official purpose, and uses  
          a unique design or color.  That bill was vetoed by Governor  
          Schwarzenegger.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          State Farm Insurance 
          California Grape and Tree Fruit League
          Latino Health Alliance 
          California Immigrant Policy Center 
          Personal Insurance Federation of California 
          PICO California 
          Monterey County Board of Supervisors 
          California Labor Federation 
          California State Grange
          Western Growers

           Opposition 
           
          California for Population Stabilization 
          Unlicensedtokill.org
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093