| Press Release |
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| November 16, 2007 |
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Governor Signs Executive Order Securing Oregon Driver Licenses and Identification Cards
Salem - Governor Kulongoski today signed an Executive Order instructing the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV) to draft rules tightening the documentation and identity verification requirements for licenses and identity cards.
The Governor took this action because Oregon’s current documentation requirements to prove identity for licenses and ID cards issued through the DMV are among the most permissive in the country. This, coupled with Oregon’s relatively long eight-year license term, has made Oregon vulnerable to organizations that bring people to the state to get a license or ID card they are not entitled to.
“It is unacceptable for our state to be a magnet for people trying to illegally obtain a driver license or identification card,” said Governor Kulongoski. “Under this Executive Order, we will secure our licenses and bring Oregon closer in line with other states.”
Under the Governor’s Executive Order (EO 07-22), applicants for new or renewal driver licenses or ID cards will be required to provide a valid Social Security number if they have one – which will be verified by the DMV. They will also have to provide identification such as a passport, birth certificate, resident card, tribal identification card or a driver license from another state.
Applicants who do not have a Social Security number or those whose number cannot be verified will need to provide additional proof of identity such as valid U.S. immigration documentation.
The new rules will not go into effect immediately as it will take the DMV several months to implement the changes. Before they do go into effect, the agency will launch an information campaign to ensure Oregonians know what identification to have in hand when they apply for or renew licenses or identification cards.
Governor Kulongoski points out that while the Executive Order tightens Oregon’s permissive system, it does not solve the problem of what to do about people who are driving but do not have the documentation to prove they are legally present in the U.S. Any further changes would have to be made to Oregon statutes through the state legislature.
“The larger problem is that we must have comprehensive immigration reform,” said Kulongoski. “But until the federal government fixes this nation’s broken immigration system, it will be left to the states to deal with this issue on a piecemeal basis.”
View the Question and Answer document addressing the Executive Order.
Contact:
Patty Wentz, 503-378-6169
Rem Nivens, 503-378-6496
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