BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1465 (Gordon) - Driver's licenses.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: March 26, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 11 - 0 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: July 6, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1465 would require all applicants for an original
driver's license or identification card to submit proof of
California residency, beginning July 1, 2016.
Fiscal
Impact: The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would incur
one-time and ongoing costs of approximately $5.56 million in
2016-17 and approximately $5.4 million annually thereafter,
primarily related to increased transaction times. (Motor
Vehicle Account)
Background: Existing law generally requires applicants for an original
AB 1465 (Gordon) Page 1 of
?
driver's license or identification card to submit satisfactory
proof of legal presence status under federal law, such as a
birth certificate or approved immigration documents.
Applications for the issuance or renewal of a driver's license
or ID card must contain a section for the applicant's social
security number. DMV is prohibited from accepting an
application without a verified SSN unless the application was
submitted with documents establishing legal presence and the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verifies that the person
is in the country legally, but not authorized to work.
Existing law, AB 60 (Alejo), Ch. 524/2013, requires DMV to issue
an original driver's license to an applicant who is unable to
demonstrate proof of legal presence in the United States, if
that person meets all other qualifications for licensure and
provides satisfactory proof of identity and California
residency. An AB 60 driver's license is valid only for driving
purposes and cannot be used for identification or federal
purposes.
Congress enacted and the President signed H.R. 1268-"Real ID Act
of 2005" on May 11, 2005, which is designed to improve the
security of driver's licenses and identification cards issued by
the individual states. The Act includes certain minimum
document and license issuance requirements, and it provides that
only persons with legal presence status can be issued a driver's
license or identification card (DL/ID). A state, however, is
permitted to issue a license or identification card to an
undocumented immigrant, providing the license meets certain
appearance requirements and clearly states that it cannot be
used for any other official purpose. A driver's license issued
by a state that is not compliant with the Act will not be
recognized for federal identification purposes, such as entering
a federal building or boarding a plane. To date, DHS has
determined that 21 states meet REAL ID Act standards, but the
remaining states, including California, have been granted a
deferment. The current round of extensions will end on October
15, 2015, but DHS will typically renew an extension if a state
can provide adequate justification for continued non-compliance,
such as demonstrating progress towards implementing minimum
standards of the Act, plans for implementing any unmet
requirements, and external factors that have caused delays
towards full implementation.
AB 1465 (Gordon) Page 2 of
?
Proposed Law:
Beginning July 1, 2016, AB 1465 would require an applicant for
an original driver's license or identification card to submit
satisfactory proof of California residency, and would prohibit
DMV from issuing a license or identification card to an
applicant who cannot prove residency. The bill would also
require DMV to adopt regulations specifying procedures for
verifying an applicant is a California resident.
Staff
Comments: This bill is a federal conformity measure that is
intended to bring the state incrementally closer to full
compliance with the Real ID Act. This would help demonstrate
progress towards implementing the Act's minimum standards and
full compliance that is necessary for an extension from DHS.
The bill would require DMV to update regulations and make other
necessary one-time changes for implementation, such as
programming and updating of applications, handbooks, and DMV's
website. It is likely that DMV could duplicate the regulatory
requirements for AB 60's California residency documentation when
developing and adopting regulations related to the
implementation of this bill. The significant annual ongoing
costs of approximately $5.4 million would primarily be
attributable to increased processing for the collection, review,
and scanning of residency documents, which would add time to
each transaction for an original driver's license and
identification card. DMV estimates the bill would apply to
approximately 130,000 transactions each month, and would require
the equivalent of an additional 85 PY of staff time statewide.
-- END --