AB 2895 – Driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

Last year, Senator Gil Cedillo introduced SB 60, a bill to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens.  The Legislature passed the bill and former Governor Davis signed it into law.

Following SaveOurLicense's successful effort to obtain 500,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot, and the recall of Davis and election of Governor Schwarzenegger, the Legislature repealed the law before it went into effect.

Now, Senator Cedillo has introduced SB 1160, a new bill to license illegals.  This bill eventually became AB 2895 and was passed by the legislature and vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

The bill would have...

• Repealed existing law that requires every applicant for an original driver's license or identification card to submit satisfactory proof that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.

• Repealed the law that prohibits the DMV from issuing driver's licenses to individuals who fail to provide proof of citizenship.

• Allowed the use of a federal taxpayer identification number or other number approved by the DMV in lieu of a social security number for driver's license applicants.

• Required the DMV to accept a combination of: Matricula consular cards issued by the government of Mexico, foreign driver's licenses, foreign passports, foreign military identification cards, and foreign birth certificates for applicants for driver's licenses.

• Required these applicants to submit to the Department of Justice a full set of fingerprints for the purpose of state and federal criminal background checks.

• Prohibit the department from issuing a driver's license to a person on whom it receives a report indicating that the applicant has been convicted of a public offense, other than the offense of driving without a driver's license.

• Required the department to charge a fee to these applicants sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the Department of Justice, but not more than $60.

• Required all applications for an original or renewal driver's license to contain documentation acceptable to the department showing the applicant is presently residing in this state.