02/11/2020 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

           SB 162-FORM OF NAME ON DRIVER'S LICENSE/ID                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:56:37 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR REVAK announced  the consideration of SENATE  BILL NO. 162,                                                               
"An Act relating to names on state-issued identification."                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:56:49 PM                                                                                                                    
TOM   WRIGHT,  Staff,   Senator   Mia   Costello,  Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,  introduced SB 162 on  behalf of the                                                               
sponsor, paraphrasing the following sponsor statement:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Senate Bill 162 directs  the Division of Motor Vehicles                                                                    
     to include  numeric characters  when issuing  either an                                                                    
     identification  card  or   driver's  license  when  the                                                                    
     individual's name includes numerals.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     This  bill  was introduced  in  response  to a  concern                                                                    
     about state  identification cards from the  Division of                                                                    
     Motor  Vehicles  for  individuals whose  name  contains                                                                    
     numerals.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
He said  he is  aware of  one instance in  which the  Division of                                                               
Motor Vehicles  said that  numerals in  a name  would have  to be                                                               
spelled  out.  The parents  of  the  child declined  because  the                                                               
numeral  in the  child's name  was there  for a  specific reason.                                                               
They asked the  state to honor what was on  the birth certificate                                                               
but  DMV  said  they  could   not  do  that  because  of  federal                                                               
regulations and Real ID requirements.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WRIGHT summarized  that  the sponsor  introduced  SB 162  in                                                               
response to concerns  about state ID cards  for individuals whose                                                               
names contain numerals.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:58:21 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL pointed  out that while the  bill addresses state                                                               
ID  cards,  individuals  would  still need  to  comply  with  the                                                               
federal REAL ID Act.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. WRIGHT replied  he was not familiar with the  REAL ID Act but                                                               
he imagines that would be true.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR REVAK advised that representatives  from DMV were online to                                                               
answer questions.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. WRIGHT  said he  cannot argue  with the  indeterminant fiscal                                                               
note because changing  the system would not be  easy. However, he                                                               
believes it is  important to honor the names that  parents put on                                                               
their kids' birth certificates.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:00:28 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COGHILL   asked  the  DMV  representative   whether  the                                                               
driver's  license and  the  identification card  are  one or  two                                                               
records.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:01:20 PM                                                                                                                    
JOANNE  OLSEN,  Interim  Director, Division  of  Motor  Vehicles,                                                               
Department  of Administration,  Anchorage,  Alaska, replied  they                                                               
are one and the same record.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COGHILL asked, should this  bill pass, if it would comply                                                               
with the Real ID Act.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:02:02 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  WRIGHT   directed  attention   to  the  November   27,  2019                                                               
Legislative Legal  Services opinion in  the packets. He  read the                                                               
following:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     With regard to  the name placed by the DMV  on the face                                                                    
     of the driver's license  or identification card, DHS is                                                                    
     proposing  to  adopt   the  ICAO  [International  Civil                                                                    
     Aviation  Organization] 9303  standard.  The ICAO  9303                                                                    
     standard requires  Roman alphabet characters,  allows a                                                                    
     total  of 39  characters on  the face  of the  driver's                                                                    
     license or identification  card, and provides standards                                                                    
     for truncation of longer names.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Numeric characters  should not  be written in  the name                                                                    
     fields of  the VIZ  [visual inspection  zone]; however,                                                                    
     where the use  of numeric characters is  a legal naming                                                                    
     convention  in  the  issuing  State,  these  should  be                                                                    
     represented in  Roman numerals. Any  prefixes, suffixes                                                                    
     or  Roman numerals  shall be  entered in  the secondary                                                                    
     field.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:03:32 PM                                                                                                                    
JENNA  WAMSGANZ, Deputy  Director,  Division  of Motor  Vehicles,                                                               
Department of  Administration (DOA), Anchorage, Alaska,  said she                                                               
agrees with  the legal  opinion that Mr.  Wright cited.  She also                                                               
pointed out  that DMV uses  electronic verification  systems from                                                               
Social Security  and the US  Passport Verifications  Service when                                                               
it issues  identification credentials  and those agencies  do not                                                               
put  numeric  characters  in a  person's  name.  An  inconsistent                                                               
naming convention  could therefore cause verification  issues and                                                               
prevent DMV from issuing an identification credential.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COGHILL asked  if the default would be  to Roman numerals                                                               
if SB 162 were to pass.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WRIGHT  responded  that  Roman   numerals  are  already  the                                                               
default. He  relayed that the  parents who requested  this change                                                               
have been adamant  that they gave their child the  middle name of                                                               
"10" for  a specific reason and  it is on the  birth certificate.                                                               
The sponsor is trying to accede to the parent's wishes, he said.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COGHILL asked  if DMV  could comply  if SB  162 were  to                                                               
pass.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:06:16 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. WAMSQANZ said significant programing  changes to the customer                                                               
management  system to  allow for  numeric changes  in the  naming                                                               
field. She reiterated  that a number of  DMV's internal processes                                                               
would break since the division  would be unable to electronically                                                               
verify  names against  other  agency  databases. Additionally,  a                                                               
number of other state agencies rely  on DMV data. She said she is                                                               
unaware  that any  of  those  agencies have  the  ability to  add                                                               
numeric characters  to their  naming conventions.  She referenced                                                               
the  indeterminant fiscal  note  and advised  that DMV's  initial                                                               
estimate was  that the bill  would cost the division  hundreds of                                                               
thousands of dollars.  She also highlighted that  the division is                                                               
aware of  just one customer  who has requested  the accommodation                                                               
of a numeric  character in their name in the  last two years. "We                                                               
don't  believe  that  this  low  level  of  demand  supports  the                                                               
extensive  research,  resources,  and  the funds  that  would  be                                                               
required to implement the proposed change."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COGHILL asked  if  the numeral  is  on the  individual's                                                               
passport.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WRIGHT  replied he  did  not  believe  a passport  had  been                                                               
issued.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COGHILL  commented that  this  seemed  to be  an  uphill                                                               
battle.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:08:28 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR REVAK  opened public testimony  on SB 162, found  none, and                                                               
closed it. He  noted the indeterminate fiscal note  and stated he                                                               
would hold the bill in committee.