Jan 22, 2009 by Faroe Robinson
(KCPW News) A new bill aims to allow legal immigrants in Utah to get a drivers license. Currently, a Social Security number is required for residents to get one. Bill sponsor Senator Curt Bramble says this bill would change that requirement so that only legal residency has to be proven.
"One of the differences, if you have a work visa, or a student visa, or you're here legally, but you don't have a social security number, today you can only get a driving privilege card; with this bill, if you can show temporary legal residence status, you can get a temporary drivers license for that period of time under this bill," Bramble said.
Bramble says this bill is in compliance with the federal Real ID Act, which requires proof of legal residency for a drivers license to be issued. He also says this bill clears up licensing issues from last year's controversial immigration bill, Senate Bill 81, set to go into effect in July.
But Bramble says even if the problems in SB81 are fixed, immigration as a whole can't really be addressed until the federal government steps up.
"Across the spectrum of your opinion on immigration, there is a consistent thread and that is that the federal government has been a pathetic and a dismal failure in addressing immigration in any meaningful way. So I question how much a state can really do, if you look at Oklahoma, Arizona and other states who have attempted to have more stringent legal standards on immigration, the federal courts have consistently ruled that there is federal preemption," Bramble said.
The Immigration Interim Committee voted favorably on Bramble's bill, and he's confident it will pass in the upcoming legislative session.
