{"id":35687,"date":"2012-01-26T07:21:32","date_gmt":"2012-01-26T14:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=35687"},"modified":"2012-01-27T09:46:23","modified_gmt":"2012-01-27T16:46:23","slug":"license-debate-will-likely-be-another-train-wreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/01\/license-debate-will-likely-be-another-train-wreck\/","title":{"rendered":"License debate will likely be another train wreck"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Most agree that policymakers need to address issues with the law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver\u2019s licenses, but the governor and many Democrats are at odds over what to do. A victory by either side or a compromise appears to be unlikely again this year.<\/h4>\n

An investigation has found potential fraud by some immigrants who have New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses; a spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> says that\u2019s another sign that the state\u2019s license \u201cis not secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Associated Press investigation, which was detailed in a Tuesday article<\/a>, found that \u201caddresses of dozens of the same businesses and homes across New Mexico were used over and over again by people to get driver\u2019s licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud by immigrants trying to game the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, \u201cIn one instance, 48 foreign nationals claimed to live at a smoke shop in Albuquerque to get a license,\u201d the report states. \u201cIn another case, more than a dozen claimed to live at an automotive repair shop over a one-year period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez and some others might tout the report as additional evidence of the need to repeal the New Mexico law \u2013 one of only two in the nation \u2013 that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses. But Democrats in the N.M. Senate caucused Tuesday and decided to dig in their heels, insisting that amending the current law, not repealing it, is the way to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue has drawn national attention and it has made one thing very clear: The current law must be strengthened to include provisions that clearly address the flaws,\u201d Senate Democrats said in a statement released after they emerged from their caucus. \u201cRepealing the law and forcing a fraction of the driving population to go without proper licensing, registration or insurance puts New Mexican families at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

With both sides agreeing that there\u2019s a problem that needs fixed but set in their opposing views about how to do it \u2013 amending the law versus repealing it \u2013 the debate over the issue appears to be headed for the same bitter and divisive train wreck that consumed so much time during the Legislature\u2019s last regular session a year ago.<\/p>\n

The debate could ramp up this afternoon, when the House Human and Labor Resources Committee<\/a> is scheduled to consider HB 103<\/a>, sponsored by Rep. Andy Nu\u00f1ez<\/a>, I-Hatch. That\u2019s the Martinez-backed bill that would repeal the driver\u2019s license law.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be able to watch the committee hearing by clicking here<\/a>; the start time depends on when the floor session ends and other factors. If the debate over Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s bill happens today, NMPolitics.net will liveblog it.<\/p>\n

House, Senate likely at odds again<\/h3>\n

The debate over the issue was often tense during the 2011 regular session. After a House committee tabled Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s bill, he pushed for a procedural vote that would bypass committees and bring the bill to the floor for consideration. Speaker Ben Luj\u00e1n<\/a> delayed that attempt with a controversial ruling<\/a> to adjourn for the day.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t stop Nu\u00f1ez. Following two days of policy debate and procedural wrangling, eight Democrats joined him and the GOP caucus in passing the Martinez-backed repeal bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Senate later voted to keep licenses for undocumented immigrants<\/a>, passing what Senate Democrats called compromise legislation that would implement \u201cstricter and tougher requirements for\u00a0foreign nationals\u00a0to obtain\u00a0driver\u2019s licenses,\u201d including \u201ca six-month residency requirement as well as fingerprints for foreign nationals in order to be eligible for a N.M. driver\u2019s license.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez said she would veto the Senate bill, and lawmakers couldn\u2019t reconcile differences between the two pieces of legislation, so the debate died<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez intends to force a floor vote on his bill this year, if necessary, and there\u2019s a good chance the House will pass it again. If the Tuesday statement from Senate Democrats holds, there\u2019s little chance of that chamber passing Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are more than 90,000 foreign nationals with licenses, and 97 percent of them have complied with our state\u2019s licensing requirements,\u201d Senate Democrats said in their statement. \u201cRepealing the law would not advance public safety, would not help law enforcement and would not eliminate instances of fraud. A sweeping approach may create safety issues. We need to address those actually committing fraud while making sure that everyone driving is licensed, registered and insured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pleas for compromise<\/h3>\n

Martinez has threatened to inflict election pain on those who oppose her effort to repeal the law \u2013 an effort polling has shown is backed by the majority of New Mexicans. All lawmakers\u2019 seats are up for grabs this year, and Martinez\u2019s political action committee has half million dollars in the bank.<\/p>\n

Still, at least two Democratic lawmakers representing swing districts are sticking their necks out by seeking compromise. In the House, Rep. Bill O\u2019Neill<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, has sponsored legislation<\/a> that, in his words, \u201crepeals the\u00a02003 law and substitutes instead a provisional license for these same foreign nationals who do not have a Social Security number.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this license they can still\u00a0secure car insurance, and lawfully drive themselves to work, or to church, or to school to pick\u00a0up their children.\u00a0It cannot, however, be used to travel outside of New Mexico \u2013\u00a0this license would\u00a0have no validity outside of our state borders,\u201d O\u2019Neill wrote in a guest column submitted to NMPolitics.net that has not yet been published.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge both sides \u2013 immigrant rights activists as well as Republican opponents \u2013 to be willing to tackle the problem with true compromise in the interest of good public policy for all New Mexicans,\u201d O\u2019Neill wrote.<\/p>\n

Sen. Steve Fischmann<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, has introduced a bill<\/a> he says would comprehensively address immigration issues, rather than taking on only the license issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs anti-license proponents rail at the opposition for supporting de facto open borders, and pro-license proponents decry their opposition as mean spirited racists, we seem to be headed down the same well-worn path that defines most of our current politics,\u201d Fischmann wrote in a guest column<\/a> NMPolitics.net published Tuesday. \u201cIt leads to a land where everybody hates each other and no meaningful problem is ever solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to go there. Let\u2019s drop the political soap opera and get down to the real work,\u201d Fischmann wrote.<\/p>\n

One provision in Fischmann\u2019s bill is similar to O\u2019Neill\u2019s \u2013 it would create \u201cdriving privilege cards for guest workers that qualify as New Mexico ID only.\u201d Utah is the only state with such a law on the books.<\/p>\n

Already, one immigrants-rights group has stated opposition to Fischmann\u2019s bill<\/a>, saying it allows for discrimination by \u201cinstitutionalizing differentiated driver\u2019s licenses\u201d and creating \u201cthe opportunity for profiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez, with public opinion on her side, wasn\u2019t willing to budge last year. She\u2019s given no indication that this year will be any different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most agree that policymakers need to address issues with the law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver\u2019s licenses, but the governor and many Democrats are at odds over what to do. A victory by either side or a compromise appears to be unlikely again this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[156,140,142,107],"class_list":["post-35687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-crime","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}