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| Statement from Sen. Hedlund on illegal immigrant drivers |
| By Administrator |
| Friday, March 05, 2010 02:06 PM |
|
A bill filed by Sen. Robert L. Hedlund designed to prevent illegal immigrants from registering motor vehicles in Massachusetts has advanced in the Legislature and is gaining support from lawmakers. The Joint Committee on Transportation approved the bill Thursday, just two days after the Senate included similar language in its “Safe Driving Bill.†“It is clear that more and more of my colleagues recognize the danger that exists when loopholes exist that enable people without driver’s licenses and, without any sort of training, register and then get behind the wheel of a car,†Sen. Hedlund said. The measure was not included in the House version of the Safe Driving Bill. Differences between the House and Senate bills will be negotiated by a conference committee. Sen. Hedlund expects to be one of the six legislators named to the committee. “Including this piece in the final version of the Safe Driving Bill will be one of my top priorities as a member of this conference committee,†Sen. Hedlund said. “We cannot truly have safe roads, if we continue to make it easy for unlicensed and untrained drivers to own cars.†The Transportation Committee endorsement is important, he said, because it provides extra weight during the conference committee process. It also means that if the language is stripped out from the final conference committee report, it measure can still be passed as a standalone bill. State law currently prohibits illegal immigrants from applying for and receiving drivers licenses. However, drivers are not required to show proof they have a valid license when registering their vehicles. By taking advantage of this loophole, many illegal immigrants are able to drive legally registered cars without ever having to take a driver’s education course, or pass a road test. According to reports, there are approximately 170,000 vehicles on the roadway with so-called “X-registrations.†Although some belong to senior citizens who no longer drive, or to commercial business, the vast majority belong to illegal immigrants. Sen. Hedlund filed his bill, S 1921, after hearing from a number police officers complaining about difficulties policing illegal immigrant drivers. According to one North Shore police officer, during an 8-month period he pulled over 13 vehicles that ended up being registered to drivers without a valid license. Other police officers say illegal immigrant drivers also often cancel their car insurance, or let is lapse, once they secure their registration. This can lead to problems if an unlicensed, untrained driver without insurance is involved in a car accident, the officers say. The bill requires that corporations registering motor vehicles produce a federal tax identification number, or a social security number, if the business entity is a sole proprietorship. It allows the RMV to grant specific exemptions, such as if a vehicle is owned by a senior citizen who no longer drives, but instead is driven around by friends or family members. In addition, the bill toughens penalties for those caught driving without a valid license, increasing the minimum fine from $100 to $500 for a first offense, and establishing a penalty of fine up to $1,000 and/or 10 days in jail for a second offense, and a fine of up to $2,000 and/or 30 days in jail for a third offense. |