Legislature(2005 - 2006)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/27/2006 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB310 | |
| SB189 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 310 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 289 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 189 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
9:23:13 AM CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 189(STA) "An Act relating to issuance of identification cards and to issuance of driver's licenses; and providing for an effective date." This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. 9:23:42 AM SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS, sponsor of this bill testified it is important to the country and to the state. It provides that Alaska "does its part." In May 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Real ID Act into law, which establishes requirements that states must comply with. Senator Huggins stated that legal residents and US citizens would not be impacted by this legislation. It would cause difficulty for people in the country illegally by preventing them from obtaining a drivers license. Senator Huggins informed that the Division of Motor Vehicles accepts 15 to 20 types of documents for drivers' license issuance. The drivers' license of a person residing in the US as a college student, or residents "on an indefinite visit to the United States of America from outside" would expire after one year. Senator Huggins concluded that this legislation would provide it very difficult or impossible for a person in the United States illegally to obtain a drivers license in the state of Alaska. 9:25:29 AM Co-Chair Green noted the large demonstration held in Washington, DC on US immigration policy that where recently held. Co-Chair Green asked if this legislation would require additional identification from US citizens. 9:26:02 AM Senator Huggins replied that this bill would not change the status of those people. 9:26:10 AM Senator Stedman shared that he had unsuccessfully attempted to use his State-issued Senate ID card to board an airline. 9:26:36 AM Senator Huggins told of a possible argument in opposition to this bill is a claim that it is an attempt at implementing a national identification system. However, this bill would not accomplish this. 9:27:05 AM Co-Chair Wilken noted the reference to "conditional resident alien" on page 1, line 8 of the bill, and asked if this pertains to a person with a "green card". 9:27:20 AM DEBORAH GRUNDMANN, Staff to Senator Huggins, read the federal definition of conditional resident alien as follows. A conditional resident alien is any alien granted permanent resident status on a conditional basis. Example: a spouse of a US citizen, an immigrant investor who is required to petition for the removal of the set of conditions before the second anniversary of approval of his or her conditional status. Ms. Grundmann was unsure if this included individuals holding a green card. 9:28:39 AM DUANE BANNOCK, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration, testified via teleconference from Anchorage that Senator Huggins adeptly explained why this legislation is important. It would make the Division compliant with the federal Real ID Act. Mr. Bannock stated that under the provisions of this bill, to obtain an Alaska drivers' license a person must be a US citizen or prove that they are residing in the country legally. In the case of legal residents who are not US citizens the expiration date of the drivers' license would be different. Mr. Bannock spoke to misinformation regarding the Real ID Act, of which this legislation is one component. As a result of past administration policies of the Division, Alaska is already nearly compliant with the federal law. The majority of the Division's policies have been established in regulation. This bill would make much of the regulation statutory. 9:30:49 AM MATTHEW KERR testified via teleconference from an offnet location that he opposed this bill and the federal Real ID Act. He predicted significant financial costs associated with frequent license renewals. A foreign student would be required to visit the Division up to five times during their four-year education, which would be inconvenient to the student and cumbersome for the Division. If he were a student from another country attending college in the US and this legislation were in effect, he would ignore its provisions and continue to utilize his drivers' license from his home country. This would result in increased public safety expenses. Drivers operating motor vehicles in the US should receive training to drive in this country. The driving laws and requirements for obtaining a license in Russia are considerably different. 9:36:55 AM Co-Chair Green indicated she would distribute a written copy of the Mr. Kerr's testimony if he provided it to her office. 9:37:03 AM Senator Huggins asserted that Mr. Kerr just explained why this legislation is necessary. Protection against foreigners intending harm to the US is not the sole task of each state's Division of Motor Vehicles, or state law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Central Intelligence Agency. It is the responsibility of all these agencies. Senator Huggins was not concerned that a foreign-national college student attending the University of Alaska, Anchorage must renew his or her drivers' license each year. A college student in North Carolina recently "rammed through the population", giving his reason as "he didn't like the people there [be]cause he thought that they were… killing people of his religious group." Senator Huggins stressed, "That's the real world." If the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles could discourage such occurrences, or contribute in the capture of a non-citizen with similar intentions, this legislation would be successful. 9:38:33 AM Co-Chair Wilken offered a motion to report the bill from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal note. Without objection CS SB 189(STA) was MOVED from Committee with fiscal note #1 of $20,000 from the Department of Administration. 9:38:54 AM AT EASE 9:39:10 AM Co-Chair Wilken announced that the budget subcommittees would conclude and the full Committee would consider the FY 07 operating budget during the following weeks. A schedule would be published soon.
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