Legislature(2003 - 2004)
05/07/2003 08:03 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 40 - REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE Number 1914 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 40, "An Act relating to issuance of a driver's license." Number 1921 REPRESENTATIVE LYNN, speaking as the sponsor of HB 40, [made a motion to adopt CSHB 40(TRA) as the working document]. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for the purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN, as an introduction to HB 40, remarked that having a driver's license is a privilege, not a right. That's why Alaska has established minimum qualifications for a driver's license The purposes of HB 40, he explained, are to help strengthen homeland security, to help establish legal residency, to help prevent voter fraud, to help prevent identity theft, to enhance public safety, and to aid legal accountability. He assured members that nothing in HB 40 would affect the rights of legal aliens, and relayed that CSHB 40(TRA) defines "alien". REPRESENTATIVE LYNN described Alaska driver's licenses as "breeder documents" that can be used to obtain other documents, and that can, in some cases, give someone the appearance of being a legal alien. He urged the committee to vote favorably on HB 40. Number 2139 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH stated that CSHB 40(TRA) was before the committee. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that the hearing on HB 40 would be recessed in order to again take up HB 295. [The hearing on HB 40 was recessed until later in the meeting.] HB 40 - REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE Number 1900 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that the committee would resume the hearing on HOUSE BILL NO. 40, "An Act relating to issuance of a driver's license." [Before the committee was CSHB 40(TRA)] Number 1908 REPRESENTATIVE LYNN, speaking as the sponsor of HB 40, said that HB 40 is needed for the number of different reasons that he'd highlighted earlier in the meeting. Number 1948 CHARLES R. HOSACK, Deputy Director, Director's Office, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration (DOA), relayed that the DMV supports HB 40. He went on to say: It puts a clause into the state law that requires legal presence, either a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully admitted in to the United States, before we can issue a driver's license or an ID card. ... By policy, [the DMV] is essentially doing this now. The identity documents that we require before issuing a driver's license are usually only those that a U.S. citizen or a legal alien would have. So for us it's not too much of a change; there's no cost to implement this. [The] bill is important to us because this issue of legal presence has come to the forefront after ... [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001], and we are trying to follow many other states that do have a legal-presence law. We want to do this before the federal government tries to enact some laws that might not be to the state's liking. And right now, according to our records, there are about 28 states that do have a legal- presence law, and some of them are very serious about the issue, even to the point where they are refusing to accept driver's licenses from states that do not have a legal-presence law. So this will avoid that problem for any Alaskans moving to another state. So we do support the bill; it is a low-cost option, and with that I'm available for any questions .... REPRESENTATIVE LYNN mentioned that at one point he'd considered including a provision that tied the expiration date of a driver's license to that of a visa; however, that would have caused some problems. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked Mr. Hosack to revisit the fiscal note. He added, "I know that other states have incurred relatively large fiscal notes in implementing this type of legislation, and [I] would like him to check perhaps with the California experience or the Virginia experience." MR. HOSACK replied that although he has not checked with either California or Virginia, California has had a legal-presence law for some time. He said that he'd based his fiscal note on the fact that the DMV already requires proof that a person is a U.S. citizen or a legal alien before being issued a driver's license or ID, and already lists, on the "driver record," the person's place of birth. Number 2168 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ mentioned that according to his information, California paid $1.8 million per year for its legal-presence law, and Virginia is anticipating a cost of $5.5 million annually to implement such a law plus an additional $200,000 in training costs. "Admittedly, Alaska is a much smaller place, but I'd certainly like to know what the basis is and if we're looking at large fiscal notes for implementing this," he added. MR. HOSACK mentioned that the DMV already provides training on fraudulent documents, including having classes by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents for managers and employees. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ reiterated his request that Mr. Hosack check with California and Virginia to find out more about how their experiences might relate to Alaska implementing such a law. MR. HOSACK, in response to a question, explained that before a driver's license is issued, the DMV verifies a person's identity through two documents that show a person is in the country legally. Without two such documents, a person would not be issued a driver's license. In response to further questions, he reiterated that DMV employees do receive training regarding fraudulent documents, and relayed that statute - AS 28.15 - requires the DMV to determine a person's identity to its satisfaction. He mentioned that because a driver's license is considered a primary identity document, all states are now attempting to improve the safeguards that prevent someone from acquiring a driver's license when he/she should not have one. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ opined that interfacing with the INS regarding fraudulent documents goes beyond the scope of what DMV is allowed to do. MR. HOSACK relayed that such interfacing occurred before the events of 9/11/01. He noted that although the terrorists who participated in those events were lawfully in the country, they did obtain phony ID cards or driver's licenses. In response to another question, he indicated that HB 40 is based on model legislation proposed by "our national association of motor vehicle administrators." To a large extent, he added, Canada and the U.S. are operating under the same procedures for providing proof of identity; in contrast, it is extremely difficult to verify the authenticity of any other country's document. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH indicated that HB 40 would be held over.
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