The California Legislature has taken a stand against the Department of Motor Vehicles' plan to share driver license data with other states, withholding $55 million in funding in the latest budget agreement. The move, announced Thursday night, blocks the DMV from linking to a database that would begin fulfilling requests for information about California drivers early next year.
The system records the last five digits of a driver's Social Security number and uses a placeholder such as "99999" for those without one, raising concerns that it could easily flag drivers who lack a Social Security number. Immigrant advocates warn that uploading this data could leave undocumented Californians vulnerable to deportation if the information reaches Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Under a 2014 law known as Assembly Bill 60, Californians are eligible to obtain a standard driver's license regardless of immigration status. State officials argue the data sharing is necessary to comply with the Real ID Act of 2005, which sets requirements for accepting state identification at federal facilities like airports.
In response to the budget proposal, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson encouraged people without federal authorization to live in the U.S. to leave the country.
The Senate released its budget proposal Tuesday evening, and the funding for the DMV's State-to-State Verification program was not included. The Legislature must adopt a budget by June 15 but has until June 30 to negotiate details with the governor.
Leaving out the $55 million would not completely kill the DMV's plan, advocates said. Budget negotiations between the two houses and Gov.
Gavin Newsom's office could continue. Lawmakers could still revive the appropriation through follow-up budget legislation or a separate bill.
However, it could mean the DMV is unlikely to receive the funding by July 1, the date it had targeted to begin sharing data, according to Jessie Schmitte, a state policy manager with Alliance San Diego, a community-based human rights organization tracking the proposal. Nearly 200 organizations signed a letter opposing the DMV data sharing plan.
The plan also drew protesters to a San Francisco DMV branch earlier this month. Some advocates credited CalMatters with bringing the issue to light in a news story earlier this year.
"As you probably know, a lot of organizations weren't aware of these conversations until, thankfully, the CalMatters article came out and brought air into this conversation for everybody who has not had a seat at the table," said Schmitte. "If you were really serious about protecting Californians and doubling down on privacy concerns, you wouldn't be running away from these conversations." The DMV needs more than funding to carry out the plan.
State law prohibits the DMV from sharing a Social Security number obtained through the licensing process for most purposes, meaning additional legislation is needed before providing information to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a nonprofit whose governing board consists of DMV officials from across the country. The data would help other states ensure people don't simultaneously hold identification documents elsewhere.
Advocates worry local officials in those states might pass information from the association database to the federal government about apparent unauthorized immigrants. The association has said its database cannot be searched in bulk or without specific information like name and date of birth.
A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said discussions about the DMV funding are ongoing. Staff for two other lawmakers did not respond to requests for information about negotiations.
Newsom's office referred questions to the Department of Finance. Spokesperson H.D.
Palmer said "discussions have been underway and are continuing." At this late hour, it seems unlikely a compromise could be reached by the DMV's deadline, said Andrea Guerrero, founding executive director of Alliance San Diego. "It's hard to imagine what kind of change could be made while we're standing at the end of a plank," she said.