Driver's License Changes Mostly Defeated After 9/11

June 15, 2002

ST. PAUL, Minn. - State officials around the country adopted a similar line of reasoning after Sept. 11: If most of the terrorists got on planes by flashing driver's licenses, maybe those licenses were too easy to get.

At least 30 states proposed changes, ranging from stricter penalties for creating fake IDs to making the licenses of non-citizens expire when their legal stay ends.

Ten months later, though, few of the plans have become law. At least seven states, including Arizona, have revised their policies in some form, with New Jersey, Florida and Virginia - where terrorists obtained licenses - leading the way.

But many other proposals died because they were seen as hostile to immigrants.

When an anti-terrorism plan was first proposed in Minnesota in November, changing the driver's license system was considered the bedrock reform upon which others would be built.

Licenses for non-citizens would expire at the same time as their visas, and their licenses were to be marked with a colored stripe to make them easier for police to spot.

It was the last provision that offended civil liberties groups and immigrants. The bill died.

But other states moved forward. Kentucky now requires most non-citizens to go to one of 12 offices statewide to obtain or renew licenses.

The measure, implemented on an emergency basis in November and slated to become law next month, is being challenged by the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, which wants the U.S. government to investigate whether the practice illegally discriminates against immigrants by making some travel long distances.

Florida and Louisiana have enacted laws that make driver's licenses expire with immigration permits. Connecticut did the same through a rule change.

Virginia and Colorado now require stricter proof of residency to get a license. New Jersey passed a bill, on hold for now, to convert to licenses with digitized photos and signatures to make them harder to forge.

Even where laws were not changed, many states' practices were. Arizona instituted new training for all motor-vehicle employees in what documents can be used to prove residency.

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