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SPONSOR: |
Larranaga |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
429 |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Suspension of HS Dropout Drivers’ Licenses |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
|
|
See Narrative |
|
|
Relates to HB 105
REVENUE
Estimated Revenue |
Subsequent Years Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
|
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
|
(47.0) |
|
Recurring |
State Road Fund |
|
(23.0) |
|
Recurring |
Counties & Municipalities |
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Responses Received From
Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)
State Highway & Transportation Department
(SHTD)
State Department of Education (SDE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 429 bars
the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) from issuing a driver’s license, a learner’s
permit or restricted driver’s license to those under the age of 18 unless they
are enrolled in a school or have obtained a high school diploma or its
equivalent.
Significant Issues
Proponents believe
that driving a car is a privilege and should only be given to minors who are in
school. They believe that denying a minor a license to drive is an incentive to
keep minors from dropping out of school.
TRD states requiring
people to be licensed as a driver is primarily for the health and safety of the
motoring public. Using this process for
secondary aims, such as forcing minors to stay in school, dilutes its focus and
increases its cost.
SDE agrees with the
intent of HB 249 to discourage minors from dropping out of school. They argue if a minor does drop out, this
all-or-nothing approach is inconsistent with Section 22-2-8.9 NMSA 1978 of the
Public School Code added in 1999, which permits a minor to test for and receive
an SDE-issued GED certificate at age 16.
Additionally, Section
Barring certain
categories of minors from obtaining a driver’s license may actually encourage
some of these minors to drive without proper licensure and insurance. This would be an unintended consequence of HB
429. Moreover, this bill might also result
in some minors who reside in rural areas and who may have properly quit school
with every intention of working and obtaining a GED from being unable to obtain
or travel to certain jobs.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The MVD does not
compile data on licenses and permits issued by age. The fiscal impact was derived from Census
Bureau estimates of population by age group, and State Department of Education
reports on school enrollment and dropout percentages. The fiscal impact presented above assumes
approximately 7,000 minors who would otherwise be eligible for licensure will
no longer qualify under HB 429.
The fees for
provisional driver’s licenses and instructional permits are $13.00 and $2.00,
respectively. These revenues are distributed pursuant to Section 66-6-23 NMSA
1978. Approximately two-thirds goes to the State Road Fund and one-third to various local
funds.
ADMINISTRATIVE
IMPLICATIONS
Applicants would be
required to provide additional documentation to verify applicant is enrolled in
and attending school when applying for a permit or provisional license. MVD
will have to train its personnel on valid documentation. Wait times for customers
could increase in smaller MVD offices that don’t have an information desk where
a clerk checks a customer’s documentation for a particular transaction.
RELATIONSHIP
HB 429 relates to HB 105. Both bills have
similar intent, but use different language for school requirement.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
SHTD noted the
following:
DW/yr:prr