October 20, 2022
California Federation of Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the CFRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Karen Contreras, Elaine Freeman,
Theresa Speake, and Cheryl Sullivan
AB 1776 – Department of Motor Vehicles: driver’s licenses and identification cards
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue and renew driver’s licenses. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue identification cards. Existing law requires the department to issue a restricted driver’s license to an eligible applicant who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law if they meet all other qualifications for licensure and provide satisfactory proof of identity and California residency.
Existing law also authorizes the department to issue an identification card to a person documented under the DACA program. This bill, would among other things, require the department to, by no later than July1, 2027, issue a restricted identification card to an eligible applicant who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that their presence in the US is authorized under federal law if they provide satisfactory proof of identity and California residency.
Existing law requires the restricted licenses and identification cards to include a recognizable feature on the front of the card, such as the letters DP instead of DL and IC instead of ID. It is estimated that an additional 1.6 million people living in the state will qualify for state-issued identification.
This bill would delete the provision requiring recognizable feature on the cards. This bill specifies that immigration enforcement, does not constitute an urgent health and safety need for those purposes, and would prohibit a government agency or department, law enforcement agency, commercial entity or other person from obtaining, accessing, using, or otherwise disclosing, noncriminal history information maintained by the department for the purpose of immigration enforcement. SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR 9/23/22
AB 2449 Brown Act Modification
The Ralph M. Brown Act governs how public meetings held by legislative bodies must be run. This bill modifies the rule relating to teleconference participation by members of legislative bodies for and during public meetings. During the COVID Emergency action by the Governor, AB 361 allowed for teleconferencing of the full legislative body as well as the public.
This bill creates an opportunity for less than a majority of the board (up to 2 members of a 5-member board; up to 3 members of a 7-member board) to attend via teleconference under certain conditions when the majority of the board participates from a single physical location open to the public.
When a quorum of the legislative body participates in a physical location open to the public, AB 2449 authorizes the remaining board members to participate remotely under two specific circumstances.
- Just Cause, the member notifies the legislative body at the earliest possible opportunity, including at the start of a regular meeting, of their need to participate remotely for just cause. A member of the legislative body may not use the provisions of the clause for more than two meetings per calendar year.
- Emergency Circumstances: The member requests the legislative body to allow them to participate in the meeting remotely due to “emergency circumstances” means physical or family medical emergency that prevents a member from attending in person. There are other requirements under this provision.But the important part of the revision to the Brown Act is that the legislative body must provide a way for the public to remotely hear, visually observe, and remotely address the legislative body, either by a two-way audiovisual platform or a two-way telephonic service and a live webcasting of the meeting. The legislative body is required to provide the public with information on how to access the public meeting and must provide an opportunity for the public to address the body in real time. This change has been a positive change for public input where in the past, the public was required to attend meetings in person. Public participation is definitely more accessible. SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR 9/23/22
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