Allow Limited Purpose Licenses

Paragraph 1 directs the department to provide limited purpose drivers' licenses to qualified individuals.

Paragraph 2 sets forth the necessary proofs of identity and residency an applicant must show in order to obtain a limited purpose drivers' license.

Paragraph 3 sets forth the duration for which limited purpose drivers' licenses shall be valid.

Paragraph 4 provides for the creation of a differentiated license designed to comply with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 and Department of Homeland Security Regulations. This differentiated license shall clearly state that the license is "Not Acceptable for Federal Purposes."

Paragraph 5 makes provisions for altering the limited purpose drivers' license if the Department of Homeland Security determines that a license issued pursuant to this section does not comply with federal law.

Paragraph 6 makes clear that a license issued pursuant to this section may not be used as evidence of a license holder's immigration status, nor as the basis for investigating, arresting, or detaining a limited purpose license holder under circumstances where an individual who held a license pursuant to another section of law would not have been investigated, arrested or detained.

Paragraph 7 makes it a violation of law, including New York Human Rights Law (Executive Law Article 15) to discriminate against an individual because he or she applies for, holds or presents a license issued under this section.

Paragraph 8 provides that information collected under this section is not public record and may not be disclosed by the department unless required by law.

Paragraph 9 provides that such license may be used for identification purposes, except where prohibited by law.

Justification

By passing this legislation, New York will join the eleven states, as well as the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico, which have already taken the sensible step of passing legislation that allows immigrant motorists the opportunity to earn legal driving privileges. These states include our neighbors in Connecticut, big states with major cities like Illinois and California, even a deep red state like Utah, not to mention the one jurisdiction whose homeland security concerns rival New York City's-Washington, D.C.

Ten of these laws were passed in 2013 alone, and similar bills are under consideration in state houses all across the country. The reasons for this flurry of legislative activity are simple. First, comprehensive reform is stalled in Washington and limited purpose drivers' licenses are a commonsense way states can improve public safety and give hard-working immigrants the chance to legally do basic things the rest of us take for granted, like commuting to work, driving to church, or taking their kids to school. Second, recent federal guidance has allowed states to develop distinguishable, limited purpose licenses that comply with REAL ID Act and Department of Homeland Security requirements, while still providing these same benefits to states and their residents.

Allowing all individuals the opportunity to earn a drivers license, regardless of immigration status, will improve public safety by ensuring that everyone driving on our roads is properly credentialed, informed of our traffic laws, and is operating a registered, inspected and insured vehicle. In New Mexico and Utah, where these laws have been in place for a decade or more, there has been a demonstrable impact on road safety: New Mexico saw a 23% decrease in traffic deaths between 2002 and 2010 and Utah experienced a 15% reduction during that time period. Moreover, possessing a legal license will facilitate increased cooperation between immigrants and law enforcement, making it more likely that drivers will remain at the scene of a car accident or cooperate as a witness to a crime. Our current system, which prevents these individuals from obeying the law, places everyone needlessly at risk.

Moreover, as additional drivers obtain insurance, the number of accidents involving uninsured motorists will naturally decline. The costs of such accidents - and the premiums that cover them - will drop, and insurance rates will go down for everyone. In Illinois, for example, it is estimated that if only half of the state's 250,000 unlicensed immigrant residents became licensed and insured, Illinois policyholders would save $46 million per year in premium payments. With an immigrant population more than twice the size of Illinois', New York drivers could see even greater savings. Additionally, the state would receive an influx of millions of dollars in fees from these newly licensed drivers, providing potential funding for any number of worthy programs.

Beyond road safety and overall economic impact, passing this legislation will also allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants to move out of the shadows and into the economic mainstream. This will benefit not only the license holders themselves, who will enjoy greater employment flexibility, but also the many businesses that employ these individuals. This is particularly true in New York's agriculture industry, where the workforce is largely comprised of immigrants and driving significant distances between fields or operating motor vehicles as part of the farming process is the norm. Moreover, immigrants are disproportionately victims of exploitation and fraud, and the ability to obtain a drivers license would make them less isolated and vulnerable to such predation.

Providing drivers' licenses to all New Yorkers is not some novel and untested plan. In fact, it was the status quo for ninety years, until 2002 when Governor Pataki changed the law to require license holders to have social security numbers, invalidating the licenses of 152,000 New Yorkers. In 2007, when Governor Spitzer attempted to restore immigrant drivers' licenses, New York was clearly not ready for such a step, and the political firestorm remains fresh in the minds of many. However, times have changed, and other states have demonstrated that this can be done, and done right. We cannot afford to wait on federal action to restore sanity to our broken immigration system. We must take what steps we can to fill these gaps, and a proven, commonsense measure like this one is an obvious choice to be part of this effort.

Legislative history

2015-2016-S2237 2013-2014: S. 5965-B

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect twelve months after the date on which it shall have become law; provided, however, that the commissioner of motor vehicles shall promulgate any rules or regulations necessary for the timely implementation of this act on or before such date.