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Sacramento -- A bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses stalled Thursday after running into security concerns from lawmakers and county sheriffs.
The legislation had been on the fast track after Gov. Gray Davis said he would sign the measure. But amendments made this week -- including one that would double the cost of renewing licenses for all Californians -- raised red flags.
"Last year, the governor wanted stronger security. This bill is 15 steps backward," said Nick Warner, legislative director for the California State Sheriffs Association. "I don't think the world has changed that much."
Except, he noted, for the Oct. 7 recall election. The governor vetoed a similar measure last year, drawing the ire of many Latinos who support the bill. Republicans were more blunt.
"Are you really willing to compromise the safety of Californians for a measure that is only intended at this point in time to extend or save Gov. Davis' failed political career? I hope the answer is no," said Assemblyman Russ Bough, R-Cherry Valley (Riverside County).
As it turns out, the Assembly never got a chance to vote on the measure. In an unusual move, the bill was pulled in the middle of the debate because of concerns raised by Democrats in the Senate.
Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, has been working on a version of this bill for five years. In the wake of Sept. 11, he has been working with law enforcement to find a way to allow illegal immigrants to have a license and still protect public safety.
Cedillo said the bill would make Californians safer by making sure people driving have licenses and insurance.
This year's bill, SB60, was amended this week to include a high-tech fingerprinting system and require immigrants to submit a federal taxpayer identification number. License fees for all Californians would double from $12 to $24 to pay for the plan.
But those amendments prompted opposition on several fronts.
The Internal Revenue Service warned that it does not verify the authenticity of documentation provided to get an identification number. The tax agency also doesn't conduct background checks or require anyone to appear in person.
The IRS sent a letter to the Department of Motor Vehicles urging it to oppose any attempt to use taxpayer identification numbers as proof of identification.
DMV spokesman Bill Branch said the taxpayer identification number would be used in collecting court fines and child support and for tax purposes, not to verify the identity of license applicants. The bill requires other identification for that purpose, he said.
Branch said the IRS letter was sent to all 50 states, not just California.
Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles County), said this is one of many areas of the bill that troubles her.
"We have no way of knowing that the people who are getting new licenses are who they say they are," she said.
The sheriffs association is concerned that the use of taxpayer identification numbers would jeopardize public safety. It said the current version of the bill no longer requires background checks. The bill has also dropped the requirement that illegal immigrants who get driver's licenses must also be in the process of applying for citizenship.
"We are giving people licenses who are here illegally and doing nothing about it," Warner said.
Six other states use the taxpayer identification numbers and two, Utah and New Mexico, use the numbers in issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, Cedillo said.
California's Department of Motor Vehicles said the taxpayer identification number is not the only method of identification under the bill.
Bowen said she is concerned with the new requirement that every Californian would have to be fingerprinted to obtain or renew their driver's license.
"That is an enormous change," she said. "It's a civil liberties issue. Who gets access to the database? Is this really what we want to do?"
The proposed requirement would mean that to get a license renewed, everyone would have to go into the Department of Motor Vehicles and give a full set of fingerprints, which would be entered into a database.
Currently, the DMV takes a thumbprint, but the prints are not entered into a database.
Bowen said she is also concerned that the law would take effect Jan. 1, long before any of the new systems could be put in place and years before all fingerprints could be gathered.
It is unclear how long it might take to work these issues out.
Cedillo said he still hopes for final approval on Monday.
Bowen, on the other hand, advised caution. "It's more important to get it right," she said.
E-mail Lynda Gledhill at
lgledhill@sfchronicle.com. 