HB 3-REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE  9:46:57 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced the next order of business would be HB 3, which would enable the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue driver's licenses for less than the statutory five years to certain individuals. 9:47:08 AM REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, sponsor of HB 3, said this bill has the same bill number as legislation that was proposed last session, but the bills themselves are very different. Under current statute, Alaska driver's licenses are issued for a period of five years from your birthday. HB 3 deals only with noncitizen visitors. Today a noncitizen can be legally in the United States on a visa that expires tomorrow, but he or she can get an Alaska driver's license that lasts five years. HB 3 permits the DMV to issue a driver's license for less than five years so that a noncitizen visitor's driver's license expires when his or her visa expires. 9:49:44 AM THOMAS REIKER, staff to Representative Lynn, said determining how long a foreign national can stay in the US is the purview of Homeland Security. This would allow the DMV to issue a driver's license for less than five years. The foreign national's license would expire on the same day their legal presence in the US expires. If their stay is indefinite, he or she would have to renew their driver's license each year. The sponsor did not want the bill to be overly burdensome, so people would be allowed to renew by mail for up to five years. Documentation requirements remain unchanged. HB 3 has 19 co-sponsors and passed the House with a vote of 33-2. SENATOR PASKVAN asked what other forms of identification a legal immigrant arriving in the US would have. MR. REIKER said he was not sure. The sponsor did not want to put anything in bill requiring people to show documentation. That is how things are currently structured. People are showing immigration documents. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if a legal immigrant would have a visa, passport or something official when they enter the country, 9:53:04 AM MR. REIKER answered the definition of a legal immigrant is someone who has some type of documentation from immigration services. If the person doesn't have anything, DMV will verify by telephone. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI questioned whether this turns DMV into a de facto immigration authority, which is the responsibility of the federal government. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said this is talking about visitors, not immigrants or undocumented workers. Immigration is a whole other issue. Under the bill, a visitor who has indeterminate status would be issued a license for one year at a time. There would be no additional fee for up to five years. 9:56:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN stressed that this is a simple, straightforward bill. SENATOR KOOKESH asked what the basis of bill was. Normally legislators respond to complaints from their constituents or others that a problem exists and needs to be corrected. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said the intent is to have the [expiration date] on the state-issued driver's license match the [expiration date] on the visa or other federal document. There are probably some homeland security aspects. 9:57:53 AM SENATOR KOOKESH asked what prompted him to introduce the legislation. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN answered people are staying in Alaska and driving after their visas have expired. There are aspects of homeland security. It's important to know who is driving in the state. SENATOR KOOKESH said he understands that, but is trying to find out who raised the issue. 9:58:44 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN answered no one raised it as a problem. MR. REIKER said there currently is a statutory barrier to DMV issuing a driver's license for less than five years. Part of the impetus is a statutory change. SENATOR KOOKESH asked if DMV said there is a problem. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN answered no; he went to the DMV, eight years ago. SENATOR PASKVAN said the citizens of Alaska expect that anyone going to the DMV for a license has to pass a driver's test. If he or she passes, that would seem that DMV has accomplished its function. He asked if this is a different test that the applicant has to pass. 10:00:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said no, it is only about the expiration date for a driver's license. Most states have a period of time in which to obtain a new license. When you move to Alaska, you have a certain time to change your previous license to an Alaska license. The expiration date would be for the period of time you are allowed to be here. MR. REIKER said it is a test that people already have to pass when they apply for a driver's license. This only changes the expiration date of the driver's license. It is a situation people are already facing. SENATOR GIESSEL asked if the state ID card issued by DMV is currently limited to the duration of a person's legal stay. MR. REIKER answered not right now, but DMV does not feel there needs to be a statutory change to implement that change. However, DMV's general policy is to have the same rules for both the state ID card and the state driver's license. 10:02:53 AM SENATOR GIESSEL asked if employers use the driver's license for identification, and if it's construed to be a representation of legal presence in the country. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said presumably someone who has an Alaska driver's license has a legal right to be here. SENATOR GIESSEL said she didn't believe a Social Security number is on state ID cards. She asked what on a driver's license identifies what legal presence the person has. MR. REIKER said in the real world a driver's license is a key that opens many gates. People accept it as a government issued ID. Employers and law enforcement will take it at face value. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN pointed out that nothing on a license shows residency status. 10:05:07 AM SENATOR KOOKESH asked if the sponsor expects the DMV to verify a person's legal status. That isn't their job. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said DMV would only look at the expiration date. This shows if a person is driving legally. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI noted that a few people were signed up to testify. 10:06:28 AM KERRY HENNINGS, Driver's Licensing Manager, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration (DOA), said the proposed bill allows DMV to promulgate regulations. It has a zero fiscal note and would not impact existing procedures. Currently the DMV requires an individual to provide proof of legal name, date of birth, Social Security number if one exists, and residence address. For foreign nationals there is usually a passport accompanied by a visa. There would not be a dramatic impact to staff. DMV would simply issue the license with the visa expiration date. DMV would continue to honor notification that a person's legal stay has been extended. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if this addresses those that are legally in the country. MS. HENNINGS answered correct. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if there is any problem with a visitor's capacity to drive that's connected to their legal status for being in the country. MS. HENNINGS answered no. SENATOR PASKVAN asked why, if they've passed the test, a foreign national's license wouldn't be equal to any other person's license that's issued. MS. HENNINGS said there would be no difference in the document. It would only be a matter of the expiration date changing. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if an individual who applies for a job in the private sector is now required to present two forms of identification. MS. HENNINGS replied she believes that's true. DMV sells a lot of driving records for employment application purposes, she added. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if in addition to a driver's license, a person needs to show a Social Security card or passport. MS. HENNINGS said she believes employers are required to verify Social Security numbers. SENATOR PASKVAN asked for confirmation that an employer would not be misled by anyone presenting a driver's license. MS. HENNINGS responded the Social Security number is not printed on the ID card or driver's license so that would be an indicator for an employer of a Social Security number. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if that would lead the private employer to understand that the driver's license does not indicate legal status in the US. MS. HENNINGS agreed it would not be an indicator of legal presence. SENATOR PASKVAN asked how many illegal immigrants may be applying for driver's licenses in Alaska. MS. HENNINGS said she had no idea. Without proper documentation DMV denies the application. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if there a problem within DMV with respect to this issue. 10:12:46 AM MS. HEMMINGS replied there is no problem; without proper documentation DMV cannot issue either a driver's license or ID card. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked how many people present visas to DMV for identification. MS. HENNINGS replied the division doesn't keep those numbers, but through her experience she assumes about 10 percent. Many summer visitors apply for driver's licenses. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked how many visitors would be required to reapply under this bill. MS. HENNINGS answered most are summer visitors, and are not likely to reapply under this bill for a renewal. 10:14:24 AM SENATOR KOOKESH questioned why a visitor would come to Alaska and get a driver's license. 10:15:14 AM MS. HEMMINGS answered people from the Lower 48 coming to Alaska on vacation are not surrendering their licenses. It is people from overseas with passports and visas, who have an international driver's license. If they don't, in private business practice there is concern about insurance and liability. So they ask for documentation to legally drive in our state. 10:16:36 AM SENATOR KOOKESH asked if licenses from another country are recognized in Alaska. MS. HENNINGS answered the foreign license needs to be translated into the form of an international license. Some visitors do that; some do not. SENATOR KOOKESH asked if a French citizen could rent a vehicle in Alaska using his or her French driver's license. MS. HENNINGS responded it is up to the individual rental company. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced he would limit public testimony to three minutes a person. ROBIN BRONEN, Alaska Immigration Justice Project, said this is not a simplistic piece of legislation. She has worked with immigrants and refugees since 1994. Immigration law is one of the most complex areas of law. This legislation makes absolutely no sense in terms of immigration status. She also noted that no one has complained about this issue, so what is the purpose. 10:19:26 AM She has worked as an attorney with domestic violence victims since 1988. At the Immigration Justice Project they work with approximately 200 immigrant victims of violence every year. This legislation would harm them and prevent them from getting the necessary identification to leave an abusive relationship. Most of their clients are married to US citizens who fail to document their immigration status. These victims reside in places like Unalaska, Barrow, and Ketchikan. This would trap them in those communities without protection. This legislation would further harm domestic violence victims. 10:21:07 AM JOHN HIRST, testifying on his own behalf, said he is a UK who married a US citizen and is now a permanent resident of the US. Last year he went to the DMV in Anchorage three separate times to get his Alaska driver's license. Each time, staff wanted to see his visa and proof of residence before he was allowed to apply. He did not have a visa or an I-94 card. DMV staff was rude, intimidating, and disrespectful. Under the proposed bill he would not be allowed an Alaska driver's license. DMV staff should not be making decisions regarding the legality of a person's immigration status. Legal immigrants do not always have visas. DMV is asking for proof, but he had to surrender his Washington state license. 10:23:02 AM JASON BAUMETZ, testifying on his own behalf, said he is an immigration attorney in Anchorage and works at the Alaska Immigration Justice project. He expressed concern that the bill achieves nothing for the people of the state and questioned the wisdom of burdening lawful immigrants with yearly renewals. He pointed out that nothing in the bill limits yearly renewals to non-immigrants. Furthermore, he said, the bill miscomprehends the availability of proof of immigration status. Sometimes people routinely don't get proof. He said he does not have faith in the information received from Homeland Security or United States Customs and Immigration Service, because it is often wrong. 10:25:15 AM JEFFREY MITTMAN, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska, said the bill raises concern about constitutional rights and civil liberties. Courts have looked at the issue of burdening immigrants with a different license that has less validity or less length of time than that of a US citizen. Although immigrants are not citizens they are covered under the equal protection clause. In certain circumstances the courts will allow differential treatment if there is a justifiable reason. This puts a significant burden on lawful immigrants; courts could look askance at this. ACLU is protecting the rights of those who cannot protect their own. By doing this it protects the rights of all Alaskans. 10:27:18 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI closed public testimony. REP LYNN said his staff would respond to the testimony. MR. REIKER said 30 other states and the District of Columbia already have this provision in current law. It has never been challenged successfully in a federal court on constitutional grounds. It creates a situation where Alaska is a state that is more attractive to unlawful immigrants. It's an issue. All testifiers were speaking about the current situation. Undocumented workers already can't get driver's licenses. Domestic violence and sexual assault victims are already barred if they are undocumented. He stressed that nothing in the bill precludes legal residents from renewing or obtaining a license. The concern is not with illegal immigrants; it is with the expiration date of a driver's license. The concern is that someone would overstay his or her authorized length of stay. Indefinite does not mean indeterminate or in perpetuity. DMV would accept any form of documentation. Their Alaska contact for immigration services says they are trying to use the "term duration of status," rather than "indefinite." CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced he would hold HB 3 in committee.