BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2113
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2113 (Hueso) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
SUBJECT : Enhanced driver's licenses
SUMMARY : Allows the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue
enhanced driver's licenses (EDLs) that are acceptable at border
crossings as proof of identity and citizenship. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding traffic congestion
at California/Mexico border crossings and the federal
government's endorsement of EDLs that allow for far faster
processing of border crossers.
2)Allows DMV to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a
federal agency for the purposes of obtaining approval for the
issuance of an EDL, instruction permit, provisional license,
or identification (ID) card (all of these instruments, other
than EDLs, are hereafter referred to as "related documents")
that is acceptable as proof of identity and citizenship
pursuant to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
3)Allows DMV, upon the request of an applicant, to issue an
initial EDL or related document, or renew any of these
documents, for a person who is 16 years of age or older and is
a resident of both California and the United States.
4)Requires the applicant to: submit sufficient proof that meets
the requirements of the WHTI to establish his or her identity,
residency, and citizenship; certify, under the penalty of
perjury, that the information he or she has submitted is true
and correct to the best of his or her knowledge; and sign a
declaration acknowledging his or her understanding of radio
frequency identification (RFID) technology.
5)Requires DMV to include in the EDL or related document
reasonable security measures to protect against unauthorized
disclosure of personal information regarding the person who is
the subject of the document.
6)Requires the EDL or related document to include RFID
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technology that will signal a secure system to pull up the
person's biographic and biometric data for the cross border
patrol and a machine readable zone or barcode that can be
electronically read by the cross border patrol.
7)Allows an EDL be suspended, revoked, or restricted as are
other driver's licenses under existing law.
8)Requires an applicant applying for an initial EDL or related
document to have his or her facial image and signature
captured or reproduced by DMV at the time of application or
renewal.
9)Allows the facial image and signature to be available to
federal, state, or local government agencies for law
enforcement purposes authorized by law, as well as to other
states to the extent authorized by federal law, to DMV for
purposes authorized by law, and to any other entities, if the
person provides written authorization for the release of his
or her facial image or signature.
10)Prohibits DMV from disclosing the person's facial image or
signature, or copies of a digital image of any document
required for obtaining an EDL or related document, other than
as described above.
11)Requires DMV to examine and verify the genuineness,
regularity, and legality of an application and proof submitted
for an initial or renewal of an EDL or related document.
12)Allows DMV to require the submission of additional
information to establish identity, residency, and citizenship.
13)Requires DMV to deny an application or renewal of an EDL or
related document if it is not satisfied with the genuineness,
regularity, and legality of the application or supporting
documentation or the truth of any statement contained in the
application or supporting documentation, or for any other
reason authorized by law.
14)Allows an applicant to appeal DMV's denial of an application
for the issuance or renewal of an EDL or related document.
15)Requires DMV to retain copies or digital images of documents
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provided by applicants for EDLs and related documents.
16)Requires DMV, after denying an application for an EDL or
related document, to retain the facial image of the applicant
and the reason for denial for not less than one year, unless
fraud is suspected, in which case the applicant's facial image
and the reason for denial must be retained for not less than
10 years.
17)Exempts the facial image, signature, copies, and digital
image of documents required for EDLs and related documents
from public disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act.
18)Prohibits, except as required by federal law, information
submitted by an applicant for an EDL or related document from
being disclosed to a foreign nation.
19)Requires an applicant for initial issuance or renewal of an
EDL or related document to submit an additional nonrefundable
application fee of $75 with his or application in addition to
fees normally required for a driver's license or ID card.
20)Requires these additional fees to be deposited into the
Enhanced Driver's License and Identification Card Subaccount,
which this bill establishes in the Motor Vehicle Account.
21)Requires moneys in the Subaccount, upon appropriation, to be
expended by DMV to implement this EDL program.
22)Requires moneys in the Subaccount, including any interest
accrued, to remain in the Subaccount at the end of each fiscal
year.
EXISTING LAW : Establishes procedures for the issuance of
driver's licenses, instruction permits, and ID cards but makes
no provision for any of these documents to meet the WHTI
standards that would allow them to be used as proof of identity
and citizenship under a federal program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author reports that he is carrying this bill as a
result of information he gathered in chairing hearings of the
Select Committee on California-Mexico Bi-national Affairs. "The
information provided at the hearings has significantly raised
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awareness of the impact border wait times have on our state's
economy." The intent of this bill is to reduce travel and
processing times and strengthen security at border crossings as
a means of stimulating cross-border business activities.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an
EDL is "the standard document issued by a state or (Canadian)
province that has been enhanced in process, technology and
security to denote identity and citizenship for purposes of
entering into the United States at the land and sea port of
entry." The CBP goes on to explain, "When the EDL is presented
by a United States of Canadian citizen traveler, no other
documentation is required for purposes of proving identity and
citizenship."
An EDL may be used in "Ready Lanes," which are vehicle lanes
operated by the CBP at border crossings exclusively for
travelers who possess RFID-enabled travel documents (which may
also include U.S. passport cards and so-called "trusted travel
documents"). These documents allow information contained in a
wireless device or "tag" to be read from a distance at Ready
Lanes, similar to those contained in car keys and employee
identifications. This technology eliminates the need to key-in
traveler information and translates into 60% faster processing
than manual queries.
The genesis of the EDL was the need for heightened security
measures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Congress passed the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(IRTPA), requiring U.S. and Canadian travelers to present a
passport or other document that denotes identity and citizenship
when entering the U.S. The WHTI went into effect on June 1,
2009 for land and sea travel into the U.S. The goal of WHTI is
to facilitate entry for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign
visitors, while increasing U.S. border security. The states of
Washington, New York, Michigan and Vermont as well as four
Canadian provinces have all successfully implemented EDLs.
According to the author, "Each year, 45 million vehicle
passengers and 15 million pedestrians cross the border into
California from the six ports of entry -- San Ysidro, Otay Mesa,
Tecate, Calexico, Calexico East and Andrade. In San Ysidro, the
busiest port of entry in the world, an astounding 50,000
vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians are processed into the U.S. each
day. At today's average wait time of 70 minutes, more than 8
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million trips are lost due to congestion. This is a loss of
nearly $1.3 billion in revenues, three million potential working
hours, 35,000 jobs and $42 million in wages annually in the San
Diego region alone. There is an urgent economic need to
responsibly expedite the movement of people across the
California-Mexico border. EDL's will help decrease border wait
times by at least 30 minutes and encourage people to travel from
Mexico into California using CBP's Ready Lanes. As more
travelers obtain RFID-enabled travel documents, CBP converts
more vehicle lanes into Ready Lanes. California's economy will
be the primary beneficiary of this expedited travel."
RFID is a controversial technology that tends to raise privacy
concerns. The American Civil Liberties Union, for instance,
worries that creating a database of biometric images "could pose
a threat to anonymity and anonymous speech as well as lead to
surveillance by government and private entities, as surveillance
cameras become more ubiquitous." The Consumer Federation of
California adds, "This technology has been widely criticized,
including in Washington State, where security researchers
analyzed EDLs and found security lacking."
In response to those concerns, the CBP states that it "believes
that the practices, processes, and procedures we institute at
the border mitigate the risks of cloning, skimming, and
'killing' RFID tags embedded in documents." CBP further points
out that, "There is no personally identifiable information on
the RFID tags. The tag is simply a unique reference number that
links to a secure law enforcement database where information is
stored?RFID technology has been commercially available in one
form or another since the 1970s. It is now part of our daily
lives and can be found in car keys, employee identification,
medical history/billing, highway toll tags, and security access
cards?In utilizing vicinity RFID technology, DHS adheres to
stringent requirements for safeguarding personal data. No
personal information is stored on the card - only a reference
number, which points to the information housed in secure
databases." Additionally, it should be noted that the use of
EDLs is entirely voluntary and the bill explicitly requires
applicants to sign a declaration acknowledging their
understanding of RFID technology.
One other possible (if misplaced) concern is that this bill
would somehow provide a backdoor means of providing undocumented
immigrants residing in California access to identity documents
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that can be used to facilitate their remaining in this country.
The bill, as well as the federal program it seeks to implement,
in fact restricts the issuance of EDLs to persons who are U.S.
citizens, a more rigorous requirement than is applied to
applicants for standard California driver's licenses.
Double Referral : This bill is also referred to the Assembly
Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chamber of Commerce
Councilmember David Alvarez, City of San Diego
Governor, State of Baja California
Imperial County Transportation Commission
Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce
San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce
San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition
Secretary of Tourism, State of Baja California
Smart Border Coalition
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
Consumer Federation of California
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093