AB 1660, as introduced, Alejo. Driver’s licenses: nondiscrimination.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue an original driver’s license to a person who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law if he or she meets all other qualifications for licensure and provides satisfactory proof to the department of his or her identity and California residency. Existing law makes it a violation of law, including, but not limited to, a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, to discriminate against an individual because he or she holds or presents a driver’s license issued under these provisions.
This bill would prohibit a governmental authority, or agent of a governmental authority, or person acting on behalf of a governmental authority, from discriminating against an individual because he or she holds or presents a license issued pursuant to those provisions. The bill would deem an action taken by an employer to comply with any requirement or prohibition under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act as not being a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 12801.9 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 12801.5, the department
4shall issue an original driver’s license to a person who is unable
5to submit satisfactory proof that the applicant’s presence in the
6United States is authorized under federal law if he or she meets
7all other qualifications for licensure and provides satisfactory proof
8to the department of his or her identity and California residency.
9(b) The department shall adopt emergency regulations to carry
10out the purposes of this section, including, but not limited to,
11procedures for (1) identifying documents acceptable for the
12purposes of proving identity and California residency, (2)
13procedures for verifying the authenticity of the documents, (3)
14issuance of a temporary license pending verification of any
15document’s
authenticity, and (4) hearings to appeal a denial of a
16license or temporary license.
17(c) Emergency regulations adopted for purposes of establishing
18the documents acceptable to prove identity and residency pursuant
19to subdivision (b) shall be promulgated by the department in
20consultation with appropriate interested parties, in accordance with
21the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
22Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
23Code), including law enforcement representatives, immigrant rights
24representatives, labor representatives, and other stakeholders,
25which may include, but are not limited to, the California Highway
26Patrol, the California State Sheriffs’ Association, and the California
27Police Chiefs Association. The department shall accept various
28types of documentation for this purpose, including, but not limited
29to, the following documents:
30(1) A valid, unexpired consular identification document issued
31by a consulate from the applicant’s country of citizenship, or a
32valid, unexpired passport from the applicant’s country of
33citizenship.
34(2) An original birth certificate, or other proof of age, as
35designated by the department.
36(3) A home utility bill, lease or rental agreement, or other proof
37of California residence, as designated by the department.
P3 1(4) The following documents, which, if in a language other than
2English, shall be accompanied by a certified translation or an
3affidavit of translation into English:
4(A) A marriage license or divorce certificate.
5(B) A foreign federal electoral photo card issued on or
after
6January 1, 1991.
7(C) A foreign driver’s license.
8(5) A United States Department of Homeland Security Form
9I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.
10(6) An official school or college transcript that includes the
11applicant’s date of birth, or a foreign school record that is sealed
12and includes a photograph of the applicant at the age the record
13was issued.
14(7) A United States Department of Homeland Security Form
15I-20 or Form DS-2019.
16(8) A deed or title to real property.
17(9) A property tax bill or statement issued within the previous
1812 months.
19(10) An income tax return.
20(d) (1) A license issued pursuant to this section, including a
21temporary license issued pursuant to Section 12506, shall include
22a recognizable feature on the front of the card, such as the letters
23“DP” instead of, and in the same font size as, the letters “DL,”
24with no other distinguishable feature.
25(2) The license shall bear the following notice: “This card is
26not acceptable for official federal purposes. This license is issued
27only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish
28eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.”
29(3) The notice described in paragraph (2) shall be in lieu of the
30notice provided in Section 12800.5.
31(e) If the United States Department of Homeland Security
32determines a license issued pursuant to this section does not satisfy
33the requirements of Section 37.71 of Title 6 of the Code of Federal
34Regulations, adopted pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision
35(d) of Section 202 of the Real ID Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-13),
36the department shall modify the license only to the extent necessary
37to satisfy the requirements of that section.
38(f) Notwithstanding Section 40300 or any other law, a peace
39officer shall not detain or arrest a person solely on the belief that
P4 1the person is an unlicensed driver, unless the officer has reasonable
2cause to believe the person driving is under 16 years of age.
3(g) The inability to obtain a driver’s license pursuant to this
4section does not abrogate or diminish in any respect the legal
5
requirement of every driver in this state to obey the motor vehicle
6laws of this state, including laws with respect to licensing, motor
7vehicle registration, and financial responsibility.
8(h) It shall be a violation of law, including, but not limited to,
9a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil
10Code), to discriminate against an individual because he or she
11holds or presents a license issued under this section.
12begin insert Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action taken by an employer
13to comply with any requirement or prohibition under the federal
14Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101) is not a
15violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil
16Code). This section does not conflict with the employment
17authorization verification requirements of the Immigration and
18Nationality Act.end insert
19(i) A governmental authority, or agent of a governmental
20authority, or person acting on behalf of a governmental authority,
21shall not discriminate against an individual because he or she
22holds or presents a license issued pursuant to this section.
23(i)
end delete
24begin insert(j)end insert Information collected pursuant to this section is not a public
25record and shall not be disclosed by the department, except as
26required by law.
27(j)
end delete
28begin insert(k)end insert A license issued pursuant to this section shall not be used
29to consider an individual’s citizenship or immigration status as a
30basis for a criminal investigation, arrest, or detention.
31(k)
end delete
32begin insert(l)end insert On or before January 1, 2018, the California Research Bureau
33shall compile and submit to the Legislature and the Governor a
34report of any violations of subdivisions (h) andbegin delete (j)end deletebegin insert (k)end insert. Information
35pertaining to any specific individual shall not be provided in the
36report.
37(l)
end delete
38begin insert(m)end insert In addition to the fees required by Section 14900, a person
39applying for an original license pursuant to this section may be
40required to pay an additional fee determined by the department
P5 1that is sufficient to offset the reasonable administrative costs of
2implementing the provisions of the act that added this section. If
3this additional fee is assessed, it shall only apply until June 30,
42017.
5(m)
end delete
6begin insert(n)end insert This section shall become operative on January 1, 2015, or
7on the date that the director executes a
declaration pursuant to
8Section 12801.11, whichever is sooner.
9(n)
end delete
10begin insert(o)end insert This section shall become inoperative on the effective date
11of a final judicial determination made by any court of appellate
12jurisdiction that any provision of the act that added this section,
13or its application, either in whole or in part, is enjoined, found
14unconstitutional, or held invalid for any reason. The department
15shall post this information on its Internet Web site.
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