Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Senator Betty Karnette, a member of the California State Senate. I also serve as the chair of the National Conference of State Legislature's (NCSL) Transportation Committee. It is on NCSL's behalf that I appear before you today.
I would like to join my colleague from the Council of State Governments (CSG) in thanking you, Mr. Chairman, for offering NCSL and CSG an opportunity to participate in this hearing. My testimony today is based on the NCSL/CSG report. I respectfully request that the report be submitted for the record as NCSL's written testimony.
In my comments today, I hope to demonstrate how states have moved aggressively to address license issuance problems and improve their systems. For example, the state of Virginia, has worked to close loopholes in its license issuance process. Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, Virginia has changed its laws allowing two notarized identity and residency forms to substitute for official documentation. Virginia has also passed a law requiring the Department of State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles to coordinate with several federal agencies to bring about the interchange of information concerning non-citizens residing in the US who hold or apply for a Virginia driver's license.
In California, we recently passed a measure that, for the first time, would grant licenses to verified applicants for US citizenship, but only after thorough criminal and terrorism background checks are conducted.
Mr. Chairman, many more states continue to improve their driver's license issuance process even though their state was not a target for fraud related to the terrorist attack. Attached to the white paper is a list of the states that have considered and adopted legislation to tighten security of their driver's license system. Forty-one states have considered legislation pertaining to driver's license security during the 2001-2002 session and twenty-one states have successfully enacted driver's license security legislation in the past year. Five states were working on the issue before September 11th. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I hope I have made clear that states have been extremely proactive and effective in providing solutions that will improve security of their driver's license system.
NCSL and CSG are pleased that our report has been well-received thus far at the federal level. The report was shared with the Office of Homeland Security. Its core message was reflected in the White House's National Security Report which states --
"...the federal government, in consultation with state government agencies and non-governmental organizations, should support state-led efforts to develop suggested minimum standards for driver's licenses, recognizing that many states should and will exceed these standards."
We couldn't agree more.
In our report, we provided examples of alternative state-driven solutions to improve the driver's license issuance process that could be adopted at the state level. These solutions include:
Participating in a national "State Clearinghouse for Best Practices" in which information would be posted electronically and made available through annual or semi-annual written reports.
Adopting model legislation related to the issuance and verification processes that would identify issues that have surfaced in all or most states regarding driver's license issuance and verification.
Adopting uniform minimum standards pertaining to the issuance and verification of driver's licenses. States would still have flexibility to continue testing additional ways of enhancing the integrity of the overall system.
Participating in an "Interstate Compact on Driver's License Integrity". This compact could replace the existing compacts, which were never designed to be comprehensive and are inadequately administered.
NCSL and CSG will continue this effort, with the participation of the National Governors' Association, at an upcoming summit of various state and federal officials. We hope this summit will provide guidance, and impart valuable information that will benefit participating states as they continue to improve their own driver's license issuance procedures. Once again, we encourage federal partnerships with the states during and after the summit.
Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures and in conjunction with my colleague from the Council of State Governments. I welcome your questions on the testimony I have provided today.
Attachment A
This document is the National Conference of State Legislatures' (NCSL) oral testimony for the September 5, 2002 hearing before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit on Driver's License Security Issues. NCSL's written testimony submitted for the record is the joint report co-authored by the Council of State Governments and National Conference of State Legislatures entitled "Driver's License Integrity".
