Amended in Assembly May 13, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 82

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chávez)

January 6, 2015

An act to add Section 12801.3 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 82, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Vehicles: driver’s license: selective service.

Existing law establishes the practices and procedures for the issuance of an original or a renewal of a driver’s license. The federal Military Selective Service Act requires specified persons to register with the federal Selective Service System.

This bill begin delete would end delete begin insert would, except as specified, end insert require a person who is required to be registered under the federal act and who submits an application for an original driver’s license to be deemed to have consented to registration with the federal Selective Service System, as provided. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to include specified notices on an application for an original driver’s license and would require the begin delete department end delete begin insert department, at least monthly, end insert to forward the necessary personal information required for registration to the federal Selective Service System in an electronic format.

This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement the provisions of this bill by a certain date only if the first year operating costs do not exceed $350,000, federal funding in an amount sufficient to pay for those costs has been provided, as specified, and the federal Selective Service System executes a memorandum of understanding with the department that it will not refer the personal information required for registration to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California has one of the lowest Selective Service System
registration compliance rates in the nation.

(b) Males who are between 18 and 26 years of age who fail to
register with the Selective Service System, as required by federal
law, face possible federal penalties and loss of federal benefits,
including student financial assistance, federal employment, such
as employment with the United States Postal Service, job training
under the federal Workforce Investment Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2801
et seq.), and citizenship for immigrants.

(c) California law requires selective service registration for state
student financial aid, including Cal grants and financial aid for
immigrants under the California Dream Act.

(d) The failure of young men to register with the Selective
Service System has resulted in the lifetime loss of over
$100,000,000 in potential benefits over the last three years for
young men in California.

(e) Forty states, four territories, and the District of Columbia
have enacted legislation related to the issuance of a driver’s license
in support of the Selective Service System registration.

(f) To promote the fairness and equity of any future draft, to
ensure that important benefits associated with the registration
requirement are not lost, and to promote compliance with federal
law, the driver’s license application process should be revised so
that every male applicant for an original driver’s license who is
between 18 and 26 years of age consents to his registration with
the Selective Service System, as required by federal begin delete law. end delete begin insert law,
unless the applicant declines automatic registration in the
prescribed method. end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 12801.3 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

12801.3.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who is
required to be registered under the federal Military Selective
Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. Sec. 451 et seq.) and who submits
an application for an original driver’s license is deemed to have
consented to registration with the federal Selective Service begin delete System. end delete
begin insert System, unless the person complie end insert begin insert s with subdivision (d). end insert

(b)  begin delete The end delete begin insert Unless the person complie end insert begin insert s with subdivision (d), the end insert
submission of an application for an original driver’s license by a
person specified in subdivision (a) shall establish a conclusive
presumption that the person has done either of the following:

(1) Registered with the federal Selective Service System in
compliance with the federal Military Selective Service Act.

(2) Authorized the department to forward to the federal Selective
Service System the necessary information for the Selective Service
System registration when that person is required to register under
the federal Military Selective Service Act.

(c) The department shall require an application for an original
driver’s license to include begin delete a end delete begin insert all of the following: end insert

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert notice indicating the following:

“By submitting this application, I am consenting to registration
with the Selective Service System, if required by federal law. If I
am under 18 years of age, but at least 16 years of age, I understand
that I will be registered upon reaching 18 years of age.”

begin delete

(d)  The department shall require an application for an original
driver’s license to include a

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert notice indicating the following:

“For applicants who object to conventional military service for
religious or other conscientious reasons, alternative service
information is available from the Selective Service System Internet
Web site: http://www.sss.gov/FSaltsvc.htm”

begin insert

(3) A notice with information regarding registration with the
federal Selective Service System, including, but not limited to, the
federal criminal penalties and potential loss of benefits for failing
to register. The notice shall include the federal Selective Service
System Internet Web site address that an applicant may use to
decline automatic registration and information relating to the
applicant’s ability to decline automatic registration when applying
for his original driver’s license.

end insert

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert An applicant may indicate that he does not consent to
automatic registration with the Selective Service System by
declining automatic registration on the Selective Service System
Internet Web site described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c)
within 21 days of submitting his application. end insert

(e) The department begin delete shall end delete begin insert shall, at least monthly, end insert forward to the
federal Selective Service System, in an electronic format, the
necessary personal information required for the registration of a
person specified in subdivision (a).

(f) This section applies to United States citizens and immigrants
who are 16 years of age or older but less than 26 years of age who
are applying for an original driver’s license and who are or will
be required to register with the Selective Service System in
accordance with the Military Selective Service Act.

(g) (1) (A) This section shall be implemented by the department
only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) The implementation and first year operating costs do not
exceed three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000).

(ii) Federal funding in an amount sufficient to pay for all
implementation and first year operating costs has been provided.

(iii) The federal Selective Service System executes a
memorandum of understanding with the department that it will
not refer the personal information required for registration to the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

(B) On or before June 30, 2016, the Director of Motor Vehicles
shall do all of the following:

(i) Determine whether the conditions specified in subparagraph
(A) are satisfied.

(ii) Execute a declaration stating his or her determination of
whether the conditions specified in subparagraph (A) are satisfied.
The declaration shall state that it is being made pursuant to this
section.

(iii) Retain the declaration and provide a copy within five
working days of the execution of the declaration to the fiscal and
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the Assembly,
the Legislative Counsel, and the federal Selective Service System.

(iv) Post a copy of the declaration on the department’s Internet
Web site.

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), the department shall implement
subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of this section on or before
January 31, 2017.