Posted on 02/05/2004 4:14:31 PM PST by calcowgirl
Emboldened by President Bush's recent call for an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, local immigrant groups and California legislators are again pushing for a bill that would allow undocumented workers to obtain driver's licenses.
A coalition of activist groups delivered 32,000 signatures to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office Wednesday, supporting SB 1160, a terse bill that calls on the legislature to pass a law that would ensure all California drivers were licensed and have proof of insurance.
"The signatures are there to demonstrate there is support for developing legislation to give licenses to all drivers ... including the undocumented," said Sister Maribeth Larkin, a Catholic nun who is the lead organizer for the Sacramento Valley Organizing Community, a group of religious organizations that supports low-income housing.
The coalition is composed of groups from Northern California, including the organizers of a Dec. 12 march in St. Helena that protested the December repeal of SB 60, a bill that allowed undocumented residents to obtain licenses.
State Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, introduced SB 1160 as a way to save a spot in this year's legislative calendar for passage of a new law patterned after SB 60 -- but only when Cedillo negotiates the details with Schwarzenegger. Cedillo authored SB 60 in September.
Sticking points in the talks include whether a license would be available to all residents, regardless of their legal status, whether the licenses would have a different look than those held by legal residents and how to conduct background checks on undocumented applicants. They would also talk about ways to strengthen insurance requirements.
Dan Savage, Cedillo's chief of staff, said Cedillo plans to add amendments to the short, two-paragraph bill as the negotiations move on.
"We'll introduce a bill in its entirely when we reach an agreement," Savage said. "... The governor has been very clear that we're going to be driven by content and not be driven by speed."
Representatives from Schwarzenegger's office did not return phone calls by press time. The governor convinced Cedillo to support the demise of SB 60 In November, telling him that he would work on ways to devise a new bill that satisfied his concerns about security issues.
St. Helena immigration consultant Rosa Segura said she was hopeful a new law would be passed, but was concerned about what Cedillo's negotiations would work out.
"It depends on what the conditions are going to be," she said. "I think it's a benefit to the people who are here and have to go buy a new car every so often because their other car was confiscated for lack of a driver's license ... I think that if insurance is going to be a requirement, I think there will be less of an instance of hit and runs."
Conservative opponents criticized the petition, including State Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, who spearheaded the repeal of SB 60.
"I realize they turned in 32,000 signatures today," Oller's spokesman Bill Bird said. "However, we had 500,000 signatures collected last September to put the driver's license measure on the ballot."
In a statement, Oller said letting undocumented residents have driver's licenses would cheapen the licenses' validity and allow terrorists, fugitives and drunk drivers who lost their right to drive to get a license.
"What part of illegal don't they understand?" he said. "We're sending a terrible message to our children with this bill, that it's OK to break the law under certain circumstances."
Cedillo met with the coalition Wednesday afternoon to plot out a strategy, Larkin said.
"The meeting went well," she said. "There's a lot of confidence that the political landscape has changed dramatically since SB 60."
Larkin cited President Bush's recent call on Congress last month to design a "temporary worker program" that would set up a renewable three-year legal status for foreign and undocumented workers living in the United States. Workers who apply for the program would be forced -- eventually -- to return to the country where they have permanent legal status.
Ping
Emboldened by President Bush's recent call for an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, local immigrant groups and California legislators are again pushing for a bill that would allow undocumented workers to obtain driver's licenses.And so it begins. Dubya let 'em get their illegal, criminal foot in the door. Thank yew Dubya!
Synonyms are highlighted, although the prefered term is CRIMINAL.
We killed SB60 and we'll kill this new abomination too. Disgusted BUMP back to the top.
There isn't much to this bill yet. Here's a snippet:
Votes required to pass: 2/3.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect [if passed].
The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to reduce the number of unlicensed drivers on our highways, who account for 20 percent of all accidents and, thereby, compromise public safety, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
Download the Save Our State Initiative.
It will deny public benefits to any applicants who aren't in the United States legally, requiring public employees who distribute those benefits to verify the immigration status of everyone, regardless of race or national origin, before benefits can be given. It will also prevent illegal aliens from getting driver's licenses that could otherwise indicate legal residency and qualify them for public benefits. And finally, it will prevent public agencies from using unverified foreign ID cards (such as the Matricular Consular) for identity purposes in California.
598,000 signatures are required to put the initiative on the November ballot. The deadline for turning in petitions is April 15, 2004. If you prefer to not download, use this contact info to request a petition by mail:
SAVE OUR STATE
P.O. Box 5250
Buena Park, CA 90622-5250
Tel: 714-899-9631 Fax: 714-899-3661
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