More immigrants living in the U.S. illegally would be able to obtain a
California driver's license under a bill that is moving through the
state Legislature.
A measure from Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo, of Watsonville,
would allow people without a Social Security number to apply for a
license. They must show several alternative forms of identification,
including a birth certificate and proof of residency.
Unauthorized immigrants seeking a license also must pass a driving test like other applicants.
The legislation, which passed the state Assembly on Wednesday,
follows a law approved last year that allowed driver's licenses to be
issued to unauthorized immigrants who are eligible for work permits
under a revised federal policy.
Alejo said his bill, AB60, would increase safety on California roads.
A recent study by the state Department of Motor Vehicles showed that
unlicensed drivers are nearly three times as likely to cause a crash, he
said.
"This is a good public policy to allow immigrant families across
California to be able to take the exam, learn the rules of the road,
learn our safe traffic laws, pass the driving exam," Alejo said.
Roughly 2 million people in California would become eligible for a
driver's license or ID card under the legislation, according to a
committee analysis.
Republican lawmakers opposing the bill said loosening the
requirements on who can possess a driver's license would jeopardize
other uses for the IDs, such as showing a driver's license as ID to
board a plane.
"It is a federal document accepted by federal standards to be
identification for other means besides driving," said Assemblyman Curt
Hagman, R-Chino Hills. "It is your security document."
Before a law approved in 1993, immigration status was not a factor in
seeking a California license, said Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los
Angeles. He countered that a driver's license is not the only
identification accepted at airports, pulling out the U.S. passport card
he uses when flying to Sacramento.
"This is not about immigration policy," Perez said. "It is about what
it takes to prove that you are competent to drive under California's
laws that are applicable to our roads."
The Assembly approved AB60 on a vote of 53-20, sending it to the
Senate. If approved and signed by the governor, it would take effect
Jan. 1, 2015.
Four states - New Mexico, Utah, Washington and Illinois - allow those
who are in the U.S. illegally to apply for driver's licenses.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Many Americans May Lose Current Health Policies Under ObamaCare
Many Americans who buy their own health insurance could have their
policies cancelled because they aren't up to standards of Obama's health
care law.
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.foxnews.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Tit for Tat ? ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the an...
-
What's the role of government? To one award-winning academic, it's discrimination according to race. On February 9th, Mic...
-
NEW YORK (AP) — As New York City faced one of its darkest days with the death toll from the coronavirus surging past 4,000 — more th...