Date: 10/16/2013
Final
Discussion of Bill 3
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY POVERTY REDUCTION TASK FORCE
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10:56 AM -- Discussion of Bill 3
Senator Balmer introduced Bill 3 (Attachment C) concerning the issuance of identification cards to people who are lawfully present in the United States but may have difficulty with certain documentary evidence. He thanked the working group for identifying a need in the state and talked about the working group's concern about people who are unable to obtain a state-issued identification card (ID) because they are unable to produce a birth certificate for a variety of reasons. He said that the bill applies to seniors ages 70 and older and veterans. He told the task force that some stakeholders have expressed concerns that the ID created by the bill will be incongruent with the federal requirements of the REAL ID Act. He stated that banks and other financial institutions may have issues with accepting the new state ID and that they will be watching the bill very closely. Senator Balmer reiterated that the bill offers a new route to obtaining a state ID, and explained that DOR is concerned about the estimated $2-$5 million implementation cost of the bill since there will be an increase in hearings for people going through the exceptions process. He said the exceptions process is cumbersome and time consuming. Senator Balmer questioned whether the bill is necessary since over the past year there have been only seven hearings conducted for people who are unable to obtain an ID through the regular process.
13EconPov1016AttachC.pdf
The following people testified:
11:08 AM -- Terry Scanlon, representing the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, and Linda Olsen, representing Colorado Legal Services clients, came to the table to speak about the bill. Mr. Scanlon talked about the groups that support the bill, and stated that the bill will reduce poverty for many people who have a hard time accessing an ID in order to obtain employment, housing, and public benefits. He said there are a variety of critical services that require an ID to access. Mr. Scanlon stated that there are organizations of lawyers who work an average of 60 pro bono hours and 7-8 months to help people obtain IDs. He said the bill will ease the process of legally changing one's name, and discussed the two new documents that the bill allows to be used to prove lawful presence.
11:22 AM -- Ms. Olsen talked about the ID project managed by Colorado Legal Services, and ways to simplify the current process. She discussed reasons why a person may not have access to his or her birth certificate and why it is helpful to be able to show another type of document instead of a birth certificate when applying for an ID. She stated that the exceptions process is not the same as a hearing and that the bill may need to be amended to show this difference. She said that a simplified process will save the department time and money because people won't have to come in repeatedly. Senator Kefalas asked if any of the changes made by the bill can be made administratively instead of statutorily and asked whether there is a middle-ground to the exceptions issue to lessen the fiscal impact. He discussed Senate Bill 13-004 and asked whether Bill 3 (Attachment C) comports with any aspects of SB 13-004. He talked about the difficulty in obtaining finger prints for very elderly people and issues with name changes.
11:24 AM -- Jerry Payne, OLLS, came to the table and stated that Bill 3 is not in conflict with SB 13-004.
11:27 AM
Senator Ulibarri asked the witnesses to comment on issues that may be faced by victims of the recent floods in Colorado when trying to replace a lost ID.
11:29 AM -- Mike Dixon, representing the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), DOR, stated that the department maintains a neutral position on the bill. He talked about recent improvements in DMV procedures that deal with the exceptions processes. He talked about the fiscal impact of the bill and told the task force about the exceptions process hearing. Mr. Dixon answered questions from the committee about the DMV's current exceptions process.
11:43 AM
Senator Ulibarri said that he recognizes that there is already a process in place at the DMV but that it's not serving everyone that has a need. Senator Kefalas asked Mr. Dixon to comment on how the DMV has altered its policies to accommodate elderly customers who do not have access to a birth certificate, as well as those who are disabled or incarcerated.
11:49 AM
There were no more witnesses and no amendments to the bill.