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Conference committee backs Senate language on driver's‑license and firearms provisions after heated debate
Summary
The committee of conference recorded concurrence to the Senate language on driver's licenses (addressing out‑of‑state licenses and asylum‑related issuance) and to the Senate amendment on firearms return and background‑check processes; members offered opposing minority views on humanitarian and public‑safety grounds.
The committee of conference recorded concurrence to the Senate language on driver's‑license issuance and to a Senate amendment on firearms return procedures following extended debate and a minority objection.
The driver's‑license item centered on whether people with pending asylum claims should be eligible for state driver's licenses while their cases are adjudicated. Chairman Walsh, summarizing the Senate's position, described the change as closing a perceived loophole that had allowed some individuals with pending asylum claims to obtain licenses after receiving certain temporary work authorizations and Social Security numbers. "For a year and a half, we listened to the director of Department of Motor Vehicles tell our committee that they were not issuing ... driver's licenses to anybody with a pending case," Walsh said, adding the House amendment he supported aimed to restore a stricter approach.
Senator Altschuler presented a minority position, saying his district includes Afghan asylum seekers with pending claims who rely on licenses to get to work in areas with limited public transportation. "They want to rebuild lives and giving them the safe legal way of being able to travel on our roadways ... is really important," Altschuler said.
The conferees also discussed the firearms provisions of the underlying bill (identified in the meeting as HB506). Minority conferees warned that the Senate language's allowance for courts not to request or receive background‑check results could weaken public safety. "Part 2 says a court shall not be required to request, conduct, or receive the results of a background check ... making the return of firearms have less scrutiny ... is actually setting public safety backwards," the minority speaker said.
The majority side replied that the Senate amendment clarified the Department of Safety's obligations and would ensure firearms are returned only to those eligible. "We even have it in there now with the senate amendment that if law enforcement is aware of something else that the person is, prohibited for, they can bring that attention to the court as well," the House chair said.
After further consultation the committee reported agreement: conferees said they had "agreed to the senate version of the driver's licenses" and to the Senate language for the firearms provisions; the committee then recorded consent and returned the agreed language to each chamber for concurrence.
The transcript records references to RSA 240‑a in the context of Social Security numbers and existing statute for driver's‑license eligibility, and speakers repeatedly cited Department of Motor Vehicles practice and Department of Safety procedures in their explanations.
