BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 221
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
221 (Dababneh)
As Amended June 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+------------------|
|Transportation |14-2 |Frazier, Achadjian, |Baker, Kim |
| | |Bloom, Chu, Daly, | |
| | |Dodd, Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Linder, Medina, | |
| | |Melendez, Nazarian, | |
| | |O'Donnell, Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+------------------|
|Appropriations |13-1 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow |
| | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Gordon, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to study
the feasibility of developing a digital mobile driver's license
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(DDL) application for smartphone use, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes DMV to issue a driver's license and/or an
identification card to a person, if certain requirements are
satisfied.
2)Requires a driver's license to provide specific information
including the licensee's true full name, age, mailing address, a
brief description, and an engraved picture of the licensee for
identification purposes.
3)Specifies an identification card is required to include an
engraved picture of the applicant and provide information to
adequately describe the applicant.
4)At the federal level, the Real ID Act of 2005 includes
provisions to improve the security or driver's licenses and
identification cards.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time special fund costs of $250,000 for the study.
COMMENTS: In December of 2014, the Iowa Department of
Transportation (IDOT) announced they would be developing an
in-house pilot program (program) to test a smart phone application
that could display a person's driver's license in digital form.
The DDL program is designed to be carried out in three phases
including the application design phase, the IDOT in-house testing
phase, and ultimately, if feasible, full implementation. IDOT is
currently operating under the first phase working with application
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developers, the Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and
local law enforcement to develop an application that can be
effectively used but also meet stringent security standards. IDOT
representatives have indicated phase two is anticipated to roll
out in late 2015 and will encompass a test group of in-house IDOT
staff being provided a smart phone with the DDL application. This
test group will then use the DDL for approximately six months as a
supplement to their original driver's license for specific program
purposes.
While several other states are considering the idea of a DDL pilot
program, Iowa is the only state that is presently in the
development phase of a mobile DDL application. As the first state
to experiment with this technology, the IDOT established the
program with an extended timeline to ensure that the development
and testing of the DDL application incorporates the proper
security features and to also address several implementation
concerns that have arisen since IDOT's DDL announcement. These
concerns surround how a mobile device will be handled by law
enforcement during a traffic stop, how information will be stored
on the application, and how the DDL will comply with federal Real
ID requirements. Being that IDOT established the DDL pilot
program under existing authority and not through legislation, IDOT
will have the flexibility to extend the pilot program's timeline
or cancel testing if the abovementioned implementation issues
remain unresolved.
This bill will require DMV to conduct a study on the feasibility
of developing a DDL. This bill further requires DMV to report
their findings to the Legislature by December 1, 2016. The author
notes, "people use their smart phones every day to read the news,
shop online, and check their bank accounts. Using a tool that
people are familiar with, like a mobile application, to store
their primary means of identification will be a useful option for
Californians."
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Analysis Prepared by:
Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0000698