Panel OKs tightening driver's license rules

A House committee Monday endorsed a bill that would make it more difficult for illegal aliens to get a driver's license.

HB109, which would eliminate the use of the temporary identification number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (ITIN) as a way to get a driver's license, was passed 8-4 by the House Transportation Committee Monday. A Social Security number would be required to obtain a driver's license or proper proof of citizenship in another country and documentation indicating they are here legally.

Sponsoring Rep. Mike Thompson, R-Orem, said that "we either support the law or ignore the laws," and by giving illegal residents a driver's license is ignoring immigration laws. His bill would also require that the Utah Highway Patrol enforce immigration laws.

"There are many people who come to our country for school and can't stay," Thompson said. "But we're enticing people who have come here illegally to stay."

Another Thompson bill, HB301, passed the House Government Operations Committee Monday. That one would require that county clerks forward any voter registration application to the district attorney which aims to skirt voting laws with incorrect information.

A primary concern of representatives voting for the bill was not necessarily the license itself but the other benefits — from welfare assistance to voting — that a driver's license may be used to secure. Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, said that while the bill may be a good first step, it probably would be better to address the larger problem of having the driver's license considered as primary identification.

"We are trying to make two wrongs into a right," Clark said. "But it's what a driver's license can be used to get that is the problem."

Fears about illegal aliens, especially Hispanics, using the driver's license to access other government services are actually unwarranted, said Marco Diaz, chairman of the Utah Republican Hispanic Caucus. Those who have come illegally to the United States are primarily concerned with earning money, often don't know English and seldom want to do anything else illegal, including voting, because of deportation fears.

Instead of addressing a small problem such as driver's license, Diaz suggested that legislators look to the federal government for a solution.

"Immigration laws are flawed and the system is not working," he said. "But it is a broader problem that needs to solved by the U.S. Congress."

HB301 may find more opposition in the Senate, where a committee voted down a similar bill last week. In that committee, senators decided that the importance of having licensed, insured drivers — even if they are illegal citizens — outweighed the concern of issuing them driver's licenses.

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