The Interim Committee on Roads and Transportation, chaired by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie), heard testimony from more than 40 witnesses during a four-hour committee hearing last week. The topic: driving cards for undocumented individuals. Driving cards are a substitute for drivers licenses and can aid in obtaining automobile insurance, but they cannot be used to vote, board an airplane or otherwise act as proof of citizenship.
Multiple bills have been introduced in the previous three legislative sessions to authorize Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue driving cards to undocumented individuals. However, none received a hearing, mainly because a handful of legislators who sat on either the House or Senate Transportation Committees were adamantly opposed to the idea. However, the Chamber learned recently that those objectors are no longer on those committees, thus clearing the path for a bill in 2023.
The legislative starting point will be Senate Bill 200, which was authored by Sen. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend) and co-authored by Sens. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen) and Mark Messmer (R-Jasper). As suggested, the bill provided that “an individual who is an Indiana resident and cannot provide proof of identity and lawful status in the U.S. may apply for a driving card learner’s permit and driving card to obtain driving privileges.”
The intent of last week’s hearing was to begin the discussion and help familiarize legislators with the policy objectives, which makes sense because it was the first time many heard from subject matter and policy experts, as well as civilian advocates. Senator Niezgodski was one of the first to testify and emphasized his preference and belief that this will receive bipartisan support. Seventeen other states have enacted driving card legislation.
In testimony, I referenced empirical data showing the social and economic benefits of driving cards; namely, that all drivers – documented or not – are safer after they complete driver training. Undocumented driving card holders are less fearful of being pulled over by the police and less likely to flee the scene of an accident. Further, I testified that (the majority of) employers are in favor of driving cards because it makes the streets safer for their employees who drive to and from work and as part of their job responsibilities.
Senator Michael Crider and Rep. Pressel, who chair the Senate and House Transportation Committees, respectively, have expressed optimism in hearing a bill next session. In fact, Rep. Pressel concluded the hearing by saying, “a committee report will be put together with all the information we received today (and) it sounds like you will see a bill.”
Whether a bill gets across the finish line – and in what form – is too hard to predict. But at least lawmakers are laying the groundwork now to give this important public policy a chance.
Resource: Adam H. Berry at (317) 264-6892 or email: aberry@indianachamber.com
