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Committee advances bill to mark U.S. citizens on driver IDs amid privacy and stigma concerns
Summary
House Bill 613 would add a small eagle graphic to driver's licenses and state IDs to indicate U.S. citizenship; supporters call it a simple way to verify citizenship, while opponents warned it could stigmatize lawful noncitizen residents and asked for a fiscal note. Committee reported the bill favorably on a 4–2 vote.
Representative Horton presented House Bill 613, which would add a small graphic — described by the author as an American eagle in flight — to driver's licenses and state identification cards to indicate that the cardholder is a U.S. citizen.
"It's a to be a US citizen is a pride thing," the author said, and she told the committee that Montana enacted similar language. The author and supporters argued the graphic would be small and useful for quick validation at voting locations or during routine interactions.
Senator Carter objected, asking whether the emblem would be optional and warning it could single out lawful noncitizen residents who hold Real ID-compliant cards. "We have a law that's on the books that says ... if you're an undocumented immigrant, you can't get an official Louisiana ID," Carter said, adding that lawful residents who are not citizens could face stigma if cards are visually marked.
The author said Real ID already requires proof of lawful presence but not citizenship, and that the proposed mark would simply denote citizenship; she also said OMV system updates would determine when the graphic could be implemented and that the bill, as drafted, carried no fiscal note because implementation depends on system changes.
Several civic organizations registered opposition on committee cards (including the League of Women Voters and 10,000 Women of Louisiana). Law-enforcement groups such as the Louisiana State Troopers submitted cards in support. Senator Carter asked the committee to request a fiscal note; the committee agreed to consider fiscal information.
During the committee roll call, the clerk recorded four votes in favor and two against (Vice Chair Carter and Senator Price). The chair announced HB 613 reported favorably to the floor.
Next steps: HB 613 will proceed to the Senate floor; the transcript shows committee debate and a recorded vote but the bill's fiscal impact and implementation details will need clarification during subsequent review.
