SB 262-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2015 SESSION
15-1020
03/09
SENATE BILL 262-FN
AN ACT relative to the form of drivers’ licenses and identification cards.
SPONSORS: Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13; Sen. Watters, Dist 4
This bill requires that drivers’ licenses and nondriver identification cards comply with Public Law 109-13 unless noncompliance is requested by the applicant.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15-1020
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT relative to the form of drivers’ licenses and identification cards.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Identification Cards. Amend RSA 260:21, III to read as follows:
III.(a) The identification card shall bear the name, address, date of birth, blood type (optional), veteran’s status for the purposes of identification for receiving benefits and services under New Hampshire law (optional), picture and signature of the applicant, and in the case of a card issued pursuant to RSA 260:21, I(c), said card shall bear the notation “Golden Granite State Discount Card.”
(b) The identification card shall bear an approved security marking indicating that it was issued in compliance with Public Law 109-13, unless the applicant chooses not to have his or her social security number or image retained by the department, in which case the identification card shall state that it is not acceptable for official federal purposes and shall incorporate a design or color clearly distinguishing it from a compliant identification card.
2 Form of License. Amend RSA 263:40 to read as follows:
263:40 Form of License.
I. The commissioner shall, upon payment of the required fee, issue to every applicant a driver’s license subject to such conditions as the commissioner may deem expedient and in such form as the commissioner may prescribe. Licenses issued to persons under the age of 21 shall be designed so that their horizontal and vertical axes are opposite the horizontal and vertical axes of licenses issued to other persons, and said licenses shall prominently display the date on which the licensee shall attain the age of 21 years. Consistent with RSA 263:14, the youth operator license shall expire on the 21st anniversary of the applicant’s date of birth, at which time the applicant shall be issued a traditional license. The license shall bear thereon a distinguishing number assigned to the licensee and an instant full-face color photograph, image, or likeness of the licensee. There shall also be provided a space wherein the licensee may enter his or her blood type and a space wherein the licensee may indicate his or her honorable veteran’s status for purposes of identification for receiving benefits and services under New Hampshire law if the licensee so desires. The license shall bear a special designation or symbol indicating honorable veteran’s status for licensees who indicate such veteran status.
II. The license shall bear an approved security marking indicating that it was issued in compliance with Public Law 109-13, unless the applicant chooses not to have his or her social security number or image retained by the department, as provided in RSA?263:40-a, in which case the license shall state that it is not acceptable for official federal purposes and shall incorporate a design or color clearly distinguishing it from a compliant license.
3 New Subparagraph; Application Form Options. Amend RSA 263:40-a, I by inserting after subparagraph (c) the following new subparagraph:
(d) The application form shall include the following language: “If you choose not to have your social security number or computerized image retained by the department of safety, in the future you will not be able to use your driver’s license as identification when boarding a plane or entering some federal buildings. A valid passport may be used as an alternative.”
4 Repeal. 2007, 243, as amended by 2010, 372:1, relative to prohibiting participation in a national identification card system, is repealed.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
15-1020
Revised 02/11/15
SB 262-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the form of driver’s licenses and identification cards.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill, as introduced, will increase state highway fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill would require the Department to issue driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards compliant with Public Law 109-13 unless otherwise requested by the applicant. The proposed legislation requires non-compliant driver’s licenses and non-driver identifications issued by the Department to clearly state it is not acceptable for federal purposes, and to be visibly distinguishable from its compliant counterpart. The Department states initial costs of implementation of the proposed legislation would include programing costs for information systems and administrative costs associated with the development of corresponding policies and procedures for issuance of driver’s licenses and non-driver identifications. The Department estimates these costs will increase state highway fund expenditures by $52,500 in FY 2016. The Department also states passage of the proposed legislation will have further effects on the division of motor vehicles operations for approximately five years after passage. The Department notes if the proposed legislation were to pass, the initial transaction for a citizen seeking a driver’s license or a non-driver identification would require increased documentation verification. Additionally, anyone choosing a non-compliant form of identification would be precluded from the on-line renewal option. This would inherently increase the volume of manual transactions processed at division of motor vehicles substations. To the extent this increase in manual transactions requires the employment of additional counter clerks, state highway fund expenditures will increase.