2001 House Bill 5497 - Michigan Votes

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2001 House Bill 5497

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Introduced by Rep. Lauren Hager (R) on December 12, 2001, to require a person to be a citizen or a legal resident alien in order to apply for a Michigan driver’s license, and to authorize the Department of State to report to an appropriate federal agency if it has reasonable cause to believe that a driver’s license application contains information that an applicant is an illegal alien. The bill is part of a legislative terrorism response package comprised of House Bills 5495 to 5520, and Senate Bills 930 to 960.
- Referred to the House Transportation Committee on December 12, 2001.
- Substitute offered in the House on February 7, 2002, to replace the previous version of the bill with a version recommended by the committee which reported it. The substitute adds a provision requiring the Department of State to recognize driver’s licenses from Mexican states in the same manner as is done with other nations, and a provision allowing drivers' licenses to be issued to non-U.S. citizens who show documentation of legal immigration status . The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 7, 2002.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jud Gilbert (R) on February 7, 2002, to remove a provision added in committee requiring the Department of State to recognize driver’s licenses from Mexican states in the same manner as is done with other nations. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on February 7, 2002.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson (D) on February 7, 2002, to place a two-year sunset on the provision which authorizes the Department of State to report to an appropriate federal agency if it has reasonable cause to believe that a driver’s license application contains information that an applicant is an illegal alien. The amendment failed in the House (52 to 47) on February 7, 2002. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Rep. Judith Scranton (R) on February 7, 2002, to reconsider an amendment defeated earlier to remove a provision requiring the Department of State to recognize driver’s licenses from Mexican states in the same manner as is done with other nationsdefeated . The amendment failed in the House (50 to 49) on February 7, 2002. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Rep. Michael Murphy (D) on February 7, 2002, to remove the provision which authorizes the Department of State to report to an appropriate federal agency if it has reasonable cause to believe that a driver’s license application contains information that an applicant is an illegal alien. The amendment failed in the House (42 to 59) on February 7, 2002. [Vote Details and Comments]
- Amendment offered by Rep. Ruth Johnson (R) on February 7, 2002, to insert a more precise definition of what “in the United States unlawfully” means. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on February 7, 2002.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Judith Scranton (R) on February 7, 2002, to require the Department of State to recognize driver licenses from other nations only if they meet American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators standards. Driver’s licenses from Mexican states may not meet this standard. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on February 7, 2002.
Passed in the House (74 to 30) on February 7, 2002. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on February 7, 2002.
Failed in the House (41 to 58) on February 12, 2002, to reconsider the vote by which the House passed House Bill 5497. [Vote Details and Comments]

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1) witness [by Anonymous Citizen on November 1, 2008]
Alright, I have been in the sec. of state's office while a person did not speak any english I had to translate. The person told me the information they were giving was false because they were not here legall, I asked them if they were sure what they were telling me they said yes. I told the employee and they said it doesn't matter. I take great offense to illegal immigrants having the same priveleges as I do. I come from a family of immigrants. My grandfather took the time to do it right and it is people that vote against things like this that spit on law abiding immigrants and all their efforts. Don't reward liars. Don't reward people who have managed to stay under the radar. Make laws that encourage and support people that follow the law.
Finally, why is a religious organization dictating what our state reps approve or not. They are entitled to their opinion, but they should not meddle in goverment affairs. Nor should our politicians be bias to it.
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2) Rep. Schermesser's "no vote explanation" [by Admin002 on February 22, 2002]
I voted no on HB 5497(H-1) because it would require Secretary of State workers to report people to the federal government, transforming these state employees into auxiliary federal INS agents. Especially given the complexity of determining whether a person is in this country "lawfully," this provision is likely to result in instances of racial and ethnic profiling by Secretary of State workers. It will also discourage certain persons, such as those who speak with an accent, from going to the Secretary of state to apply for or renew their current driver's licenses. The presence of this bill in the anti-terrorism package underscores the need for passage of legislation to prohibit racial profiling.

This is a package of sixty bills. This bill represents only a small piece of the overall package and is unlikely to make any positive change to our current licensing system. Furthermore, if passed with the current language, HB 5497 would place a burden on the office of the Secretary of State that they are ill-equipped to handle.

Secretary of State employees, no matter how dedicated, are not trained or equipped to handle the sorts of complex issues that are regulated by an entire federal government agency. The fact of the matter is that Secretary of State employees are not Immigration and Naturalization (INS) workers.

The Office of the Secretary of State is already facing budget cuts and branch offices are being closed throughout the state. Without training and resources for these efforts, this bill will only cause a flood of new problems and inefficiencies for people visiting Secretary of State branch offices.

While I support efforts to protect both Michigan and the United States, I voted no because in the rush to pass necessary anti-terrorism legislation, there is some unintended consequences that could have been avoided by taking a little more time with this bill. There is also the concern on the impact on our agriculture industry.

We will be giving up a process that has proved to be successful in tracking persons in Michigan. This is undue hardship to Michigan families.

If we are really interested in terrorism we should realize that this is a immigration bill not a terrorist bill, we have 42 classifications of visas. We need to address illegal ID's, birth certificates and documentation in our state. I stand strong in protecting Michigan residents and stand ready to work on this issue.
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3) Rep. Kolb's "no vote explanation" [by Admin002 on February 22, 2002]
I voted no on HB 5497(H-1) because it would require Secretary of State workers to report people to the federal government, transforming these state employees into auxiliary federal INS agents. Especially given the complexity of determining whether a person is in this country "lawfully," this provision is likely to result in instances of racial and ethnic profiling by Secretary of State workers. It will also discourage certain persons, such as those who speak with an accent, from going to the Secretary of state to apply for or renew their current driver's licenses. The presence of this bill in the anti-terrorism package underscores the need for passage of legislation to prohibit racial profiling.

This is a package of sixty bills. This bill represents only a small piece of the overall package and is unlikely to make any positive change to our current licensing system. Furthermore, if passed with the current language, HB 5497 would place a burden on the office of the Secretary of State that they are ill-equipped to handle.

Secretary of State employees, no matter how dedicated, are not trained or equipped to handle the sorts of complex issues that are regulated by an entire federal government agency. The fact of the matter is that Secretary of State employees are not Immigration and Naturalization (INS) workers.

The Office of the Secretary of State is already facing budget cuts and branch offices are being closed throughout the state. Without training and resources for these efforts, this bill will only cause a flood of new problems and inefficiencies for people visiting Secretary of State branch offices.

House Bill 5497 will not increase our safety, but it will negatively impact residents of Michigan. It will negatively impact our farmers and the workers that help to harvest our annual crops. It will increase the number of unlicensed drivers and uninsured drivers on our Michigan Roads.
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