Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Voter Id topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee reports SB 158 amid questions about foreign driver's licenses and voter ID use
Summary
Senators gave SB 158 a favorable report after a sponsor described the measure addressing foreign national driver's licenses and their use as photo identification; committee members asked how the change intersects with existing driving privileges and raised concerns about contradictory phrasing in the discussion.
The committee gave SB 158 a favorable report after the sponsor described the bill as addressing how foreign national driver's licenses relate to voter-registration photo identification.
The sponsor said the bill ensures that a foreign national driver's license "can be used" as a valid photo ID when registering to vote. Later in the exchange, a committee member asked whether such a license would allow the holder to drive in the state and the sponsor replied that current driving privileges would not be affected but then said the bill "simply says you cannot use that form of identification ... to register to vote." Those two statements in the transcript are inconsistent.
Committee members asked practical questions about what a foreign national driver's license looks like from different countries, whether the bill would require posting or notification statewide, and how enforcement would be handled. One senator raised concerns that statutes passed at different times can be contradictory and encouraged greater coordination.
The chair moved the favorable report, the chair seconded, and the clerk recorded the report. The transcript does not provide an exact statutory text or the final operative language; the record shows the committee reported SB 158 favorably.
