Sacramexico
SB-371 PASSES CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Rick Oltman---July 13, 1999
Sacramento, CA--SB 371 unanimously passed the Assembly Transportation Committee early Monday evening. The vote was 15-0. The bill, authored by Senator Hilda Solis D-El Monte, was amended--again, this time by the Assembly Republican Caucus. The amendment resulted in bipartisan support.
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Bob Lynch and Rick Oltman [r] at |
The amendment agreement removed a section from Solis' original bill that stated,"The department (DMV) shall verify the authenticity of a document submitted under this subdivision only if the document appears to be fraudulent." And added:"The department shall not be required to verify the authenticity of a document submitted under this subdivision prior t the issuance or renewal of a license or identification card for the term prescribed by Section 12816 or 13002, unless the document appears to be fraudulent. Nothing in this act shall prevent the department from revoking a license upon a later finding that the licensee is ineligible for the issuance of a license or identification card."
The effect of the change, if signed into law by Governor Davis, will be that aliens present under color of law will no longer have to wait for I.N.S. verification of their legal presence before being issued a four year driver license or I.D. card. If, however, I.N.S. subsequently reports that the documents submitted are fraudulent, then the Department of Motor Vehicles may revoke the license or I.D. card.
The compromise was worked out between Joel Szabat-Transportation Consultant for the Assembly Republican Caucus and Scott Keene of Keene & Associates, who represented the Japanese business community, for whom SB 371 was ostensibly written.
The bill eventually must to be approved by a majority in the Assembly, agreed to in the Conference Committee and then signed by Governor Davis before it becomes law.
