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.