Bill Text: CA SB249 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Vehicles: enhanced driver's license.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2016-04-25 - Last day to consider Governors veto pursuant to Joint Rule 58.5. [SB249 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB249-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 249 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 16, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hueso
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 15400) to
Division 6 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 249, Hueso. Vehicles: enhanced driver's license.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon
proper application, to issue driver's licenses and identification
cards.
The federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative facilitates
travel within the western hemisphere by authorizing the use of
enhanced driver's licenses and identification cards meeting specified
requirements as travel documents.
This bill would authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to
enter into a memorandum of understanding with a federal agency for
the purpose of facilitating travel within the western hemisphere
pursuant to the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative through
the issuance of an enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card. The bill would authorize the department to
issue or renew, upon request, an enhanced driver's license,
provisional license, or identification card for specified persons.
The bill would require a person applying for the initial issuance or
renewal of an enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card to submit, under the penalty of perjury,
additional proof of identity, residency, and citizenship that
satisfies the requirements of the federal Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require
the department to provide a protective shield and to take other
specified security measures for the enhanced driver's license,
provisional license, or identification card.
The bill would also require the department to submit an annual
report to specified committees of the Legislature on the
implementation of the enhanced driver's license, provisional license,
and identification card. The bill would require a person applying
for an enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card to submit an additional application fee. The bill
would require the department to set, by regulation, the application
fee in an amount not to exceed the reasonable regulatory cost of
issuing or renewing the license or identification card, or $55,
whichever is less, and to provide specified information to the
applicant. The bill would require the fees to be deposited into the
Motor Vehicle Account. The bill would, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, require those fees to be expended by the department in
implementing the above provisions. The bill would prohibit specified
information submitted by an applicant for an enhanced driver's
license, provisional license, or identification card from being
disclosed by the department, as specified. The bill would make all
laws related to the privacy or security of a driver's license,
provisional license, or identification document, or a similar
document, or regulating the use, access or sharing of information,
applicable to enhanced driver's licenses, provisional licenses, and
identification cards.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that
limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings
demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need
for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Each year, more than 45,000,000 personal vehicle passengers
and 15,000,000 pedestrians enter the state from Mexico.
(b) Border crossers have an economic impact on the state,
accounting annually for $4,005,000,000 in economic benefits and
67,000 jobs.
(c) Border wait times during peak hours average 120 minutes on
weekdays and even longer on weekends.
(d) More than 8,000,000 trips are lost due to congestion each year
in the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest port of entry in the
world.
(e) In the San Diego region alone, this translates into a revenue
loss of nearly $1,003,000,000, 3,000,000 potential working hours,
35,000 jobs, and $42,000,000 in wages.
(f) It is estimated that border wait times will significantly
increase in the future and an additional 15 minutes in border wait
times will affect productivity in the binational border region by an
additional $1,000,000,000 in costs and a loss of 134,000 jobs.
(g) Because border wait times impede international travel, trade,
and commerce, the Legislature must act to protect California's jobs
and economy.
(h) After the 9/11 attacks, the federal government enacted the
federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) (Public Law
110-53 and Public Law 108-458), to facilitate entry for United States
citizens and legitimate foreign visitors, while strengthening United
States border security, by requiring United States and Canadian
travelers to present a passport or other documents that denote
identity and citizenship when entering the United States. The
documentation requirements of the WHTI went into effect in 2007 for
air travel into the United States and in 2009 for land and sea
travel.
(i) In addition to a passport and other documents, the federal
government approved, for cross-border travel, the use of an enhanced
driver's license (EDL), which is a standard state-issued driver's
license that has been enhanced in process, technology, and security
to denote identity and citizenship for purposes of entering the
United States at the land and sea ports of entry. An EDL contains
radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which allows
information contained in a wireless device or tag to be read from a
distance, and eliminates the need to key in travelers, translating
into 60 percent faster processing than manual queries.
(j) Another advantage of an EDL is that it can be used in Ready
Lanes, which were created by the United States Customs and Border
Protection and are used as primary vehicle lanes dedicated to
travelers who possess RFID-enabled travel documents.
(k) The use of an EDL as an RFID-enabled travel document is
already in place in the States of Washington, New York, Michigan, and
Vermont.
(l) The use of EDLs in the state will open the way for the United
States Customs and Border Protection to convert more vehicle lanes
into Ready Lanes, which will decrease border wait times by an average
of 30 minutes and thus provide a significant, long-term economic
benefit to the state, while strengthening border security.
(m) It is the intent of the Legislature that the decision to
obtain an enhanced driver's license is strictly voluntary. To that
end, if California enters into a memorandum of understanding with a
federal agency for the purposes of obtaining approval to issue an
enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or identification
card pursuant to the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
(Public Law 110-53 and Public Law 108-458), it is the intent of the
Legislature that an employer shall not require an employee to apply
for, or use, an enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card as a condition of employment, nor shall an
employer discharge an employee, or otherwise discriminate or
retaliate against an employee who refuses to apply for, or use, an
enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or identification
card.
SEC. 2. Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 15400) is added to
Division 6 of the Vehicle Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8. ENHANCED DRIVER'S LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARD
15400. The department may enter into a memorandum of
understanding with a federal agency for the purposes of obtaining
approval for the issuance of an enhanced driver's license,
provisional license, or identification card that is acceptable as
proof of identity and citizenship pursuant to the federal Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative (Public Law 110-53 and Public Law
108-458). Prior to entering into any memorandum of understanding, the
department shall consult with appropriate interested parties,
including, but not limited to, business and privacy groups, regarding
the issues raised by implementation of this chapter.
15401. (a) Upon the request of an applicant, the department may
issue an initial enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card to, or renew the enhanced driver's license,
provisional license, or identification card of, a person who
satisfies all of the following:
(1) Is 16 years of age or older.
(2) Is a resident of this state.
(3) Is a citizen of the United States.
(b) (1) In addition to other information required pursuant to
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 12500), the applicant shall submit
sufficient proof that meets the requirements of the federal Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative (Public Law 110-53 and Public Law
108-458) to establish his or her identity, residency, and
citizenship.
(2) The applicant shall certify, under the penalty of perjury,
that the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) is true and
correct to the best of the knowledge of the applicant.
(3) The department shall provide a protective shield at the time
the enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or identification
card is issued to the individual, and inform the applicant in
writing that the information on the driver's license, provisional
license, or identification card can be read remotely without the
holder's knowledge, if the enhanced driver's license, provisional
license, or identification card is not enclosed in the protective
shield.
(4) The applicant shall sign a declaration acknowledging his or
her understanding of radio frequency identification technology and
the purpose of the protective shield.
(c) The department shall include, in the enhanced driver's
license, provisional license, or identification card, reasonable
security measures, including tamper-resistant features to prevent
unauthorized duplication or cloning and to protect against
unauthorized disclosure of personal information regarding the person
who is the subject of the license or card.
(d) The enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card shall include radio frequency identification
technology. The radio frequency identification technology shall
contain a randomly assigned number or employ other security measures
deemed necessary by the department to make any information on the
card unintelligible to an unauthorized reader. In any event, the
radio frequency technology shall contain only the information needed
to comply with the United States Department of Homeland Security
requirements and a machine readable zone or barcode that contains
only as much information as is required by the federal Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative (Public Law 110-53 and Public Law
108-458) to permit a border crossing.
(e) An enhanced driver's license may be suspended, revoked, or
restricted pursuant to this code.
15402. (a) An applicant applying for an initial enhanced driver's
license, provisional license, or identification card, shall have his
or her photograph and signature captured or reproduced by the
department at the time of application.
(b) All laws related to the privacy or security of a driver's
license, provisional license, or identification document, or a
similar document, or regulating the use, access, or sharing of
information, apply to enhanced driver's licenses, provisional
licenses, and identification cards.
(c) (1) The department shall examine and verify the genuineness,
regularity, and legality of an application and proof submitted to the
department for an initial issuance of an enhanced driver's license,
provisional license, or identification card.
(2) The department may require the submission of additional
information to establish identity, residency, and citizenship.
(3) The department shall deny an application of an enhanced driver'
s license, provisional license, or identification card if the
department is not satisfied with the genuineness, regularity, and
legality of the application or supporting documentation or the truth
of any statement contained in the application or supporting
documentation, or for any other reason authorized by law.
(d) The department shall retain copies or digital images of
documents provided by the person pursuant to this chapter.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), and except as required by
other law, in the case of the denial of an application for the
issuance of an enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or
identification card, the department shall retain the photograph of
the applicant and the reason for denial for not less than one year,
unless fraud is suspected, in which case the applicant's photograph
and the reason for denial shall be retained for not less than 10
years.
(f) The photograph, signature, copies, and digital image of
documents required pursuant to this section are exempt from public
disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code).
(g) Except as required by federal law, information submitted by an
applicant pursuant to this chapter shall not be disclosed to a
foreign nation.
15403. (a) In addition to fees required pursuant to this
division, a person requesting the initial issuance or renewal of an
enhanced driver's license, provisional license, or identification
card shall submit an additional nonrefundable application fee with
the application. The department shall set, by regulation, the
application fee in an amount not to exceed the reasonable regulatory
cost of issuing or renewing that license or identification card, or
fifty-five dollars ($55), whichever is less.
(b) Fees submitted shall be deposited into the Motor Vehicle
Account, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
implement this chapter.
15404. The department shall submit an annual report in compliance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code to the Assembly and Senate
Committees on Judiciary, the Senate Committee on Transportation and
Housing, and the Assembly Committee on Transportation. The report
shall include, but not be limited to, information on the number of
enhanced driver's licenses, provisional licenses, and identification
cards issued, the effect on wait times and traffic congestion at
points of entry, and whether or not there have been any security or
privacy breaches related to the use of the enhanced driver's
licenses, provisional licenses, and identification cards. Information
from the federal government that is required to be reported pursuant
to this section need only be reported to the extent the information
is received from the federal government.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this
act, which adds Section 15402 to the Vehicle Code, imposes a
limitation on the public's right of access to the meetings of public
bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the
meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the
following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this
limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
The need to protect individual privacy from the public disclosure
of private information submitted by an applicant for an enhanced
driver's license, provisional license, or identification card
outweighs the interest in the public disclosure of that information.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
