Committee advances SB 6002 to create state immigration enforcement division and restrict certain driver’s IDs

Chairman Watson presented Senate Bill 6002’s provisions the Transportation and Safety Committee found germane: creation of a centralized immigration enforcement division in the Department of Safety, funding to support local participation in the federal 287(g) program, and reforms to driver’s licenses and identification.

Watson told the committee the new division would be overseen by a Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer appointed by the governor and would negotiate 287(g) agreements with federal authorities. The bill also would establish a grant program to help local governments cover training, equipment and operational costs related to 287(g) participation.

The bill’s driver’s-license provisions would restrict eligibility for permanent credentials to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and introduce a visually distinctive marker on temporary credentials issued to lawful noncitizens. Elizabeth Strecker, legislative director for the Department of Safety, told the committee that for individuals lawfully present the credential’s expiration “will be consistent with the expiration date of their stay,” and that the department currently verifies lawful status through the federal SAVE system. She also said the department would not automatically receive notice if a visa were later revoked and that status would be corrected only if the credential were rerun or the department received notice.

Committee members also heard that the bill includes a traveling amendment previously adopted in Government Operations (amendment 002322) clarifying that only permanent driver’s licenses and state photo IDs are valid for voter identification, explicitly excluding temporary IDs. Chairman Watson said the bill contains sunset provisions terminating the division, chief officer and grant programs at the end of the presidential administration on January 20, 2029, unless the legislature acts to extend them.

The fiscal note discussed in committee estimated a grant fund of $5,000,000 subject to appropriation and roughly $500,000 in recurring costs for the chief officer and staff for the new division. After questions from committee members about implementation and local costs, the committee approved the bill’s germane sections on a roll-call vote, 8 ayes and 1 no; Senator Campbell recorded the lone no vote. The measure now moves to the Judiciary Committee.