Licence would 'not be valid for identification'.

Published Thursday, September 8, 2005, in the Los Angeles Times

Illegal Immigrant License Bill Advances

By Nancy Vogel

After a late-night debate on the politically sensitive issue of
immigration, the California Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill to
extend driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The measure would clear the way for California to create a distinct
driver's license, with a unique design and color, for people who
cannot prove legal citizenship in the United States. The license
could be used only for driving and would not be valid identification
for other purposes such as opening a bank account or boarding an
airplane.

The bill, SB 60 by Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), would also allow
roughly 800,000 people in California who have applied to federal
immigration officials for legal residency to get a California driver's
license starting as soon as March 2006.

The bill passed 42 to 34.

Cedillo's bill passed the Senate in June on a 22-16 partisan split.
Now the Senate is expected to approve recent amendments and send it to
the governor, who is under pressure from Republicans to veto the
measure.

Cedillo said he included several elements in the bill aimed at
overcoming objections from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last year
vetoed a Cedillo driver's license bill. But before the state Assembly
took up the new bill Wednesday, there were no indications that the
changes would satisfy the governor.

The governor's office has consistently said Schwarzenegger does not
want to take any action until the federal government finishes deciding
its requirements for state licenses -- changes spawned by concern that
terrorists or other criminals could get such documents. Congress gave
states the option to create distinct driver's licenses for illegal
immigrants under the Real ID Act passed in May. That sweeping law
will require most states to change the information they include on
driver's licenses, the documents they require to issue a license and
how they store driver's license data.

Before adopting their own new laws, most states are waiting to see
what regulations the federal Department of Homeland Security issues to
implement the Real ID Act. Those regulations are expected next year.

On the Assembly floor, Democrats argued that the bill would improve
highway safety in California by ensuring that most drivers are
licensed, trained and insured.

"This is a good bill because I believe it's the right thing to do
because individuals are here and they're driving and that's the
reality," said Assemblyman Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood).

Republicans argued that the bill would reward people for breaking the
law.

Assemblyman Doug La Malfa (R-Richvale) asked how he could teach his
children to follow rules "when the California state Legislature is
making rules that cause people to not have to obey the law."

But the 90-minute debate focused less on the details of the bill than
on the politically sensitive issue of immigration.

"Illegal immigration is an enormous cost to this state," said
Assemblyman Mark Wyland (R-Escondido). "And what this does is propose
to legitimize that."

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) argued that undocumented
workers, through taxes taken from their wages, "put in more than
they're taking out."

"The reward is not the driver's license," he said. "People come to
this country because of the jobs and the economic opportunity and to
get what every one of us wants for our children ... a better life."

In an attempt to head off Schwarzenegger's concern that California
should wait until the federal government details the requirements of
the Real ID Act, Cedillo amended his bill last week to incorporate
such a delay.

Cedillo argues that his bill will help all 22 million Californians
with driver's licenses by giving the Department of Motor Vehicles the
authority to begin changing its procedures, computers and staffing to
meet all the requirements of the federal Real ID Act by the May 2008
deadline. If California misses that deadline, its residents cannot
use their driver's licenses for official federal purposes.

With his popularity eroded and polls showing voters displeased with
the initiatives he has embraced on the November ballot, Schwarzenegger
risks alienating loyal voters if he signs Cedillo's bill." It would be
horribly disappointing" if the governor did not veto the bill, said
Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly.