LANSING – Individuals who can establish a legal presence in Michigan, regardless of how long they plan on staying here, could receive a state identification card or driver’s license under legislation overwhelmingly approved by the House Thursday ? which goes counter to what the Senate approved Wednesday and bucks the requirements of the federal Real ID Act, which goes into effect in May.
Allowing people like college faculty and business executives from foreign countries to receive a driver’s license in light of a recent attorney general’s opinion and Department of State rule change.
The House’s action on Thursday, a day after the Senate had voted on its own driver’s license fix coupled with Real ID implementation, sets up the first major battle between the two chambers in the New Year.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) said the leader had not talked to Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) on how the two chambers would work out their differences. But Greg Bird said, “We have been in contact with the business community, legal experts and organizations trying to discuss the right path with them (in getting the legislation to the governor’s desk).”
Matt Marsden, spokesperson for Bishop, said Real ID needs to be addressed and that is why the Senate put such an emphasis on it earlier in the week.
The federal law mandates that driver’s licenses and other forms of state identification meet certain requirements to establish the validity of the identity of the individual. The Real ID ACT was signed by President George W. Bush in 2005, however implementation of the law has been delayed as efforts are ongoing to try and win more state support for the proposal. Critics of Real ID argue the law will create a national identification system, which the federal government denies.
The consequences, however, if Michigan does not comply could mean a Michigan driver?s license will no longer become the valid piece of government issued ID that gets you on board a commercial jetliner or in a federal building in just a few short months.
House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) said his caucus’ main focus was on getting the driver’s license fix and making sure the language was tight enough to prevent illegal aliens from getting a license. While the House took a more narrow approach to the issue than the Senate, DeRoche emphasized that Real ID will have to be dealt with at some point.
The House Transportation Committee reported the package out earlier in the day, but did not act on any of the Senate bills related to this issue (SB 962 , SB 963 , SB 964 , SB 965 and SB 966 ).
The House package (HB 4505 , 103-2; HB 5535 , 104-1; HB 5536 ; 105-0 and HB 5537 , 105-0) also implements an enhanced driver’s license for people to use in traveling between the United States and Canada, as well as increases penalties for individuals who provide false statements or certificates in order to receive an enhanced license.
While the Senate had a heated debate on the legislation, the House was quiet when it came to its debate. However, in committee David Stevens, vice president of administration for Mitsuba Corporation, a Japanese company employing 500 persons at facilities in Brighton and Mount Pleasant, described the Michigan situation following last month’s attorney general ruling as an “international debacle.” He said the company assigns executives from Japan for five to seven years at a time, and “they no longer feel welcome. It’s a huge problem that needs to be fixed as quickly as possible.”
Sarah Hubbard, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber, told the committee the restrictions on driver’s licenses is deterring economic activity, especially in fields such as engineering, health and research where highly-skilled persons from other countries are needed.
She said Michigan currently has some 400,000 persons working on temporary visas, and requiring them to return to their home countries to renew their licenses would be a hardship.
Chris Mitchell of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association underscored the impact of the driver license restriction on the ability of hospitals to hire foreign nationals to fill certain needed professional positions.
Mike Boulus, director of the Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan, said the issue affects 23,000 students and 7,000 scholars who are in Michigan with temporary visas. The chatter that the driver’s license issue has generated back to other countries is that Michigan is not a welcome state, he said. “The longer we delay, the worst it will get for our image,” Boulus said.
Rep. John Stahl (R-North Branch) objected to the characterization that the issue is a debacle or the state “screwed up,” saying the state needed to deal with safety issues. He also said there was a difference between the attorney general’s ruling and the interpretation applied by the secretary of state.
In a press release, Dillon said, “Michigan must do everything it can to send a signal to businesses and universities across the world that we are open for business. The actions by the attorney general and secretary of state placed thousands of jobs in jeopardy. Not only is it wrong to deny a legal resident a driver’s license, but it affects a person’s ability to perform their job and provide for their families. It also makes people and businesses that want to invest in Michigan feel unwelcome.”
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