BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 390
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Portantino
VERSION: 3/29/11
Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 7, 2011
SUBJECT:
Identification cards: notification of renewal
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
provide to an identification card holder early notification of
the card's expiration date.
ANALYSIS:
Under existing law, DMV is responsible for issuing driver's
licenses and identification cards. There are two types of
identification cards: a regular card valid for 6 years and a
senior citizen card for persons 62 years of age or older valid
for 10 years.
To apply for an identification card, a person must provide his
or her Social Security number, verify his or her birth date and
legal presence using evidentiary documents as required by DMV,
give a thumb print, have one's photograph taken, and pay the
application fee. An applicant must sign and verify an
identification card application before a person authorized to
administer oaths.
DMV may refuse to issue, reissue, or renew an identification
card if DMV determines that the applicant has knowingly used a
false or fictitious name in the application, the applicant has
impersonated another in applying for the card, or the applicant
has knowingly made a false statement, knowingly concealed a
material fact, or otherwise committed any fraud on any
application.
Starting this year, existing law requires DMV to permit the
renewal of identification cards through the mail or internet.
For persons 62 years of age or older, the first renewal shall be
for a 10-year period with a maximum of one renewal by mail or
internet before having to renew in-person at a DMV field office.
SB 390 (PORTANTINO) Page 2
The renewals for all other applicants shall be for a six-year
period with a maximum of two renewals by mail or internet.
This bill requires DMV to provide to an identification card
holder early notification of the card's expiration date.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . Despite numerous design changes and security
enhancements in California identification cards, it remains
difficult for individuals with limited or no vision to
determine the expiration date on their identification cards.
The sponsor, the California Council of the Blind, explains
that because a person who is visually impaired may not realize
that his or her identification card has expired, he or she
will sometimes encounter difficult situations. For example,
visually impaired travelers have run into difficulty
purchasing train tickets at Amtrak stations because they were
unknowingly carrying expired state identification cards. The
sponsor notes, "�g]iven the trend toward stricter security
procedures for a variety of transactions, we can expect such
unfortunate incidents to increase unless California State ID
cards are provided renewal notices in a timely manner."
The sponsor acknowledges that DMV already sends out renewal
notices for identification cards, but states, "because state
regulations don't explicitly require the department to send
renewal notices to holders of ID cards, we are concerned that
this practice could be discontinued at any time at the sole
discretion of the Department �sic]."
The author asserts by ensuring that all Californians receive
renewal information about their identification cards, the bill
will help to prevent unnecessary and potentially difficult
situations that a person may face if he or she lacks a valid
identification card.
2.DMV's current practice . As of January 1, 2010, there exist
approximately 6,065,359 valid identification cards. In 2010,
DMV issued 1,428,725 new and renewal identification cards.
Since establishing the renewal-by-mail program this year, it
sends out renewal notifications to identification card holders
60 days in advance of the expiration date.
3.Early notification unclear . The bill requires DMV to provide
SB 390 (PORTANTINO) Page 3
"early notification" of an identification card's expiration
date, but does not define what constitutes "early." If the
sponsor's fear that DMV may opt not to provide early
notification in the future has validity, then DMV could also
opt to provide notice 10 days or one week "early," thereby
defeating the purpose of the bill to provide early
notification that is meaningful. To this end, the committee
may wish to consider an amendment to specify that early
notification must occur at least 60 days prior to the
expiration of the identification card.
4.Technical amendment . When requiring DMV to issue renewal
notices to holders of identification cards, this bill amends
the code section that requires DMV to establish a
renewal-by-mail program specifically, rather than the code
section that allows DMV to issue identification cards more
generally. Because this placement raises questions regarding
whether or not the early notification requirement would apply
to all identification card holders or only to those who renew
by mail, the committee may wish to consider an amendment to
move the language added by this bill to the code section
dealing with identification cards more generally.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 73-0
Appr: 15-0
Trans: 12-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 1, 2011)
SUPPORT: California Council of the Blind
OPPOSED: None received.