Posted on 01/30/2004 11:01:50 AM PST by Pubbie
Though he campaigned hard against it, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is negotiating with a Democratic state lawmaker to draft a bill that would grant driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
Schwarzenegger's first act as governor last fall was to repeal SB 60, signed by then-Gov. Gray Davis, which would have opened the road for the estimated 2 million illegal immigrants of driving age in the Golden State.
This week, however, the new governor said he was "absolutely positive we'll come up with a great bill" to replace SB 60, opposed by 70 percent of California voters, according to exit polling during the October recall election.
Schwarzenegger said his office has been working closely to craft a successor to SB 60 with state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, a former member of MeCha, the radical Latino student movement demanding annexation of all southwestern states.
"This is the way we move forward," Schwarzenegger said at a Sacramento Press Club lunch Tuesday, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Despite opposition from many Republicans and a majority of Californians, the governor said he is confident of the outcome.
"It's one of those things that we'll all have to get together and see that this is a good idea and this is the way we move forward," Schwarzenegger said, according to the Riverside paper. "I'm talking with my Republican friends all the time about it and also with my Democratic friends. We will do it."
Cedillo's chief of staff, Dan Savage, said tentative agreement has been reached to grant driver licenses to all illegal immigrants, the Press-Enterprise reported. The licenses would look identical to those of other residents.
Savage said there were two sticking points in the earlier bill -- insurance requirements and verifying applicants' identities.
Republicans have demanded applicants be subject to background checks, but Savage said that has not been a main topic during the negotiations, according to the Press-Enterprise.
A co-author of the legislation repealing SB 60, Assemblyman John J. Benoit, R-Palm Desert, remains firmly opposed to the plan.
"To actually give a legal document to an illegal immigrant, I'm not there," Benoit told the Riverside paper.
But, Jesse Diaz, 39, a graduate student at UC Riverside and a member of the Mexican-American Political Foundation Backers, sees it as a practical move.
"There's definitely a need for it," said. "They're going to drive regardless. It's just now the rules will be safer. They're going to have insurance. There will be driver's training. It will be great."
Davis signed SB 60 in September after blocking a similar bill in 2002, raising charges he was pandering to Latinos before the recall vote.
In a statement after signing the repeal Dec. 3, Schwarzenegger said:"The swift bipartisan passage of this legislation is a perfect example of how the peoples' will can change politics-as-usual in Sacramento.
Benoit said President Bush's proposal to give illegal workers temporary status might change the debate. If the measure passes Congress, Republicans might be more receptive to giving driver licenses to people with temporary work permits, he suggested.
Self-fulfilling prophecies are not evidence. Without the support of conservatives, Arnold would never have gotten out of the box. Where did the Party go to decide if it could be done? Here.
Congratulations. Now own it.
Just Say No to Arnold
For Immediate Release-- January 30, 2004
Governor Schwarzenegger has ignored the massive public outcry against any form of legal documentation for illegal aliens and is now following in lockstep with President Bush who has proposed an amnesty to more than 12 millions illegal aliens in the United States. Arnold has gone back on his recall election promise, knowing that California's voters are overwhelmingly opposed to giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens. His pledge to repeal SB60 was a key element in his defeat of Cruz Bustamente as well as the successful recall of Gray Davis; both of whom pandered to ethnic voters and were rejected by them.
SBX3 2 was introduced by State Senator Gil Cedillo during a special session of the State Legislature last November 23, 2003.The bill, which had been withdrawn in response to the overwhelming public rejection by Californians, had to be reintroduced by Cedillo so it would be available for the current legislative session.
Otherwise, without that action, SB60 would have been "Terminated" and unavailable for the 2004 Legislative Session. SBX3 2 currently uses extremely vague language so as to escape any public attention. However, it will soon be amended with the real language inserted.
The notion that illegals will buy auto insurance is just that, a notion. Illegals can't qualify for preferred carriers and will have to get assigned risk coverage, a form of insurance that most citizens cant even afford.
Save Our State says no to Schwarzenegger's driver's license bill and no to Bush's amnesty proposal; we're asking the people of California to help us get the SOS initiative on the ballot for the November election. Petitions can be downloaded from the SOS web site at save187.com. This constitutional amendment will prevent Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature from giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens and will also make Bush reconsider his amnesty scheme.
Self-fulfilling prophecy? You mean my one vote decided the election? Who knew. I said I would vote for Arnold because he was the only man standing between bustamechA and the governor's office. I was right. That result of the recall election would hold true even had I voted for McNeverhadachance. That is fact...and one you cannot escape...regardless how you try to spin it.
Where did the Party go to decide if it could be done? Here.
My point exactly. Had every one of the 100,000 FReepers here voted for McNeverhadachance (nevermind that only a percentage are Californians) he STILL would not have had a chance.
Congratulations. Now own it.
I'll be glad to own the defeat we handed to bustamechA...hence my tagline. You, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing to keep the racist Mexican from winning the election. Own that.
I look at things logically...which explains fully why your post is meaningless.
Really? How have we damaged this forum...because we voted for Arnold?
Please explain.
conservatives who placed principles above party loyalty buy in large supported McClintock.
Then the other side will have legal justification for a national ID Card.
Trucker coming dowm from Canada use their Canadian provincial license. Mexicans would do the same.
I wish they would move down there and make way for Presidents and Governors that actually give a damn about the USA and its citizens.
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