Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 71 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the driver's license application process so that persons who are ineligible for a social security number can obtain a driver's license by presenting an individual tax identification number and proof of legal presence in the United States.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Consulate General of Japan, the Department of Transportation, the University of Hawaii, the President and Visa Officer of the East-West Center, and three concerned individuals. The Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu submitted testimony expressing no objection to this measure, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) provided comments.

Your Committee finds that due to the lack of an effective broad-scale mass transit system in Hawaii, a driver's license is necessary to provide residents with freedom of movement.

Non-United States citizens, who are legally in the country but ineligible for a social security number, have experienced difficulty in obtaining the documentation necessary to obtain a driver's license.

Prior to the implementation of heightened security measures as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued social security numbers to individuals with a letter from the Division of Motor Vehicle & Licensing for the purpose of obtaining a driver's license.

In March, 2002, the SSA discontinued that practice, and now non-citizens are unable to obtain a driver's license. Your Committee finds this situation inequitable, and therefore supports this measure to allow alternative documentation.

Based on the comments of several testifiers, your Committee amended this measure with regard to which forms of alternative identification would be acceptable in lieu of a social security number.

Your Committee worked with AILA to craft language that was narrow enough to ensure that a legitimate form of government-issued identification is required, and broad enough to accommodate the frequent changes in immigration policy we have been experiencing in the post-9/11 world.

Instead of requiring a tax identification number and proof of legal presence in the United States, your Committee amended this measure to set forth the acceptable forms of identification, and authorized the Examiner of Drivers to adopt rules under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in the event further changes are required.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 71, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 71, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.