HOUSE BILL 244
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012
INTRODUCED BY
David C. Chavez
AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ISSUED DRIVER'S LICENSES MUST BE IN THE UNITED STATES LAWFULLY; PROVIDING FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF UNDOCUMENTED PERSONS THROUGH THE USE OF A GUEST DRIVER'S PERMIT; PROVIDING FOR GUEST DRIVERS' PERMITS FOR UNDOCUMENTED PERSONS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] GUEST DRIVER'S PERMIT.--
A. As used in this section, "undocumented guest" means a person who:
(1) is a resident of New Mexico;
(2) is eighteen years of age or older;
(3) is not a United States citizen and who does not possess a social security number or valid documentation issued by the federal government that authorizes the person's presence in the United States; and
(4) possesses an individual taxpayer identification number or other documentation that the secretary may accept as a substitute for an individual taxpayer identification number.
B. The department shall:
(1) issue a guest driver's permit to an undocumented guest who applies for the permit and who, except as otherwise provided in this section, meets all of the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Code for the issuance of a driver's license;
(2) conduct a criminal background check on an applicant by taking the applicant's fingerprints and submitting the fingerprint card to the department of public safety and the federal bureau of investigation to verify that the applicant is free of a felony conviction. This paragraph is specific authorization for the department to collaborate with the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of this paragraph;
(3) require an applicant to take a test for the presence of an illegal controlled substance, administered and certified at the person's expense by a facility authorized by the department in the same manner as for a safety-sensitive driving position; and
(4) by October 1, 2012, promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this section.
C. An undocumented guest is not eligible for a guest driver's permit if:
(1) the criminal background check reveals that the person has been convicted of a felony or the equivalent of a felony in this state if the conviction is from another jurisdiction; or
(2) the person's test for the presence of an illegal controlled substance is positive.
D. A guest driver's permit shall be only valid for driving privileges and identification in New Mexico and shall not be deemed proof of the holder's valid presence in the United States. The guest driver's permit itself shall conspicuously state: "This permit is only valid for driving privileges and identification in New Mexico and is not proof of valid presence in the United States.".
E. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a guest driver's permit shall be subject in the same manner as a driver's license to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code.
F. A guest driver's permit is valid for a term of one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed for one-year terms; provided that all of the requirements in this section for the initial issuance of the permit are met before the permit is renewed except for a driving test.
G. In lieu of any other fee for the issuance or renewal of a driver's license, the fee for the issuance or renewal of a guest driver's permit is thirty-five dollars ($35.00). The fee is appropriated to the department for expenditure in fiscal year 2012 and in subsequent fiscal years to help defray the expenses of the department. Unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining from the fee collected pursuant to the provisions of this subsection at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund."
SECTION 2. Section 66-5-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 231, as amended) is amended to read:
"66-5-9. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE, TEMPORARY LICENSE, PROVISIONAL LICENSE OR INSTRUCTION PERMIT.--
A. An application for an instruction permit, provisional license or driver's license shall be made upon a form furnished by the department. An application shall be accompanied by the proper fee. For permits, provisional licenses or driver's licenses other than those issued pursuant to the New Mexico Commercial Driver's License Act, submission of a complete application with payment of the fee entitles the applicant to not more than three attempts to pass the examination within a period of six months from the date of application.
B. An application shall contain the full name, social security number or individual tax identification number, date and place of birth, sex and New Mexico residence address of the applicant and briefly describe the applicant and indicate whether the applicant has previously been licensed as a driver and, if so, when and by what state or country and whether any such license has ever been suspended or revoked or whether an application has ever been refused and, if so, the date of and reason for the suspension, revocation or refusal. For [foreign nationals applying for driver's licenses] a foreign national applicant who is not a citizen of the United States but who has valid documentation issued by the federal government authorizing the applicant's presence in the United States, the secretary shall accept the individual taxpayer identification number as a substitute for a social security number [regardless of immigration status]. The secretary is authorized to establish by regulation other documents that may be accepted as a substitute for a social security number or an individual tax identification number for an applicant who is not a citizen of the United States but who has documentation issued by the federal government authorizing the applicant's presence in the United States. Except as provided for a guest driver's permit in Section 1 of this 2012 act, a person who is a foreign national, who is not a citizen of the United States and who does not have valid documentation issued by the federal government authorizing the applicant's presence in the United States is not eligible for a license or permit issued by the department.
C. An applicant shall indicate whether the applicant has been convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs in this state or in any other jurisdiction. Failure to disclose any such conviction prevents the issuance of a driver's license, provisional license, temporary license or instruction permit for a period of one year if the failure to disclose is discovered by the department prior to issuance. If the nondisclosure is discovered by the department subsequent to issuance, the department shall revoke the driver's license, provisional license, temporary license or instruction permit for a period of one year. Intentional and willful failure to disclose, as required in this subsection, is a misdemeanor.
D. An applicant under eighteen years of age who is making an application for a first New Mexico driver's license shall submit evidence that the applicant has:
(1) successfully completed a driver education course approved by the bureau that included a DWI prevention and education component. The bureau may accept verification of driver education course completion from another state if the driver education course substantially meets the requirements of the bureau for a course offered in New Mexico;
(2) had a provisional license for at least the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of the application for the driver's license; provided that thirty days shall be added to the twelve-month period for each adjudication or conviction of a traffic violation committed during the time the person was driving with a provisional license;
(3) complied with restrictions on that license;
(4) not been cited for a traffic violation that is pending at the time of application; and
(5) not been adjudicated for an offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs during the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of the application for the driver's license and that there are no pending adjudications alleging an offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs at the time of application.
E. An applicant eighteen years of age or over, but under twenty-five years of age, who is making an application to be granted a first New Mexico driver's license shall submit evidence with the application that the applicant has successfully completed a bureau-approved DWI prevention and education program.
F. An applicant twenty-five years of age or over who has been convicted of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs and who is making an application to be granted a first New Mexico driver's license shall submit evidence with the application that the applicant has successfully completed a bureau-approved DWI prevention and education program.
G. Whenever an application is received from a person previously licensed in another jurisdiction, the department may request a copy of the driver's record from the other jurisdiction. When received, the driver's record may become a part of the driver's record in this state with the same effect as though entered on the driver's record in this state in the original instance.
H. Whenever the department receives a request for a driver's record from another licensing jurisdiction, the record shall be forwarded without charge.
I. This section does not apply to driver's licenses issued pursuant to the New Mexico Commercial Driver's License Act."
SECTION 3. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] EXPIRATION OF LICENSES ISSUED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS--SURRENDER OF DRIVER'S LICENSES--DRIVING PERMITS.--
A. A driver's license issued or renewed to a foreign national who did not provide with the application valid documentation issued by the federal government authorizing the foreign national's presence in the United States shall expire no later than December 31, 2012, notwithstanding a later expiration date printed on the driver's license.
B. A foreign national whose driver's license expires pursuant to Subsection A of this section may surrender the license to the department on or prior to the expiration date, in which case the department shall issue to the foreign national, at no further cost to the foreign national and valid until December 31, 2013, a driving permit pursuant to Section 1 of this 2012 act if the foreign national meets the requirements for the issuance of that permit.
C. After December 31, 2012, a foreign national subject to Subsection A of this section who did not surrender a driver's license on or prior to December 31, 2012 may apply for a driving permit pursuant to Section 1 of this 2012 act."
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2012.
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