To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the development and implementation by States of security measures for driver's licenses and identification cards and a study on the consequences of denying driver's licenses to aliens unlawfully present in the United States, and for other purposes.

February 8, 2005

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. MEEHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the development and implementation by States of security measures for driver's licenses and identification cards and a study on the consequences of denying driver's licenses to aliens unlawfully present in the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Security Measures Feasibility Act'.

SEC. 2. STUDIES RELATED TO STATE-ISSUED DRIVER'S LICENSES AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS.

(a) Study on Security Measures for State-Issued Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards-

(1) FEASIBILITY STUDY- Commencing not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate--

(A) the ability of the States to develop and implement the security measures for the issuance and use of driver's licenses and identification cards described in subsection (b);

(B) the cost of developing and implementing each such measure, for each State; and

(C) the amount of time that such development and implementation would require, for each State.

(2) SECURITY MEASURES- The study under subsection (a) shall address the following:

(A) Incorporation of physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of driver's licenses and identification cards for fraudulent purposes.

(B) Use of a uniform machine-readable technology for driver's licenses and identification cards by all States.

(C) Use of available technology to capture digital images of identity source documents so that the images can be retained in electronic storage in a transferable format.

(D) Implementation of a standard for the retention of paper copies of source documents for a minimum of 7 years and digital images of source documents for a minimum of 10 years.

(E) Subjecting each person applying for a driver's license or identification card to a mandatory facial image capture.

(F) Implementation of an effective procedure to confirm or verify a renewing applicant's information.

(G) Implementation of an effective procedure to confirm with the Social Security Administration that a social security account number presented by the applicant is legitimate and to resolve any discrepancies about such a number that might occur.

(H) Implementation of procedures to ensure the physical security of locations where driver's licenses and identification cards are produced and to ensure the security of document materials and papers from which driver's licenses and identification cards are produced.

(I) Subjecting all persons authorized to manufacture or produce driver's licenses and identification cards to appropriate security clearance requirements.

(J) Provision of training in fraudulent document recognition for appropriate employees engaged in the issuance of driver's licenses and identification cards.

(K) Full participation in the interstate compact regarding the sharing of driver's license data, known as the `Driver's License Agreement', in order to provide electronic access by a State to information contained in the motor vehicle databases of all other States.

(L) Establishment of State motor vehicle databases that contain, at a minimum, all data fields printed on driver's licenses and identification cards issued by the State, and motor vehicle driver's histories, including motor vehicle violations, suspensions, and points on licenses.

(M) Establishment of two category systems for driver's licenses, one for citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States which would have to be renewed after a fixed period of time and another for nonimmigrant aliens which would expire at the expiration of the nonimmigrant's authorized period of stay in the United States.

(N) Implementation of an effective procedure to verify the issuance, validity, and completeness of every document required to be presented by an applicant for a driver's license or identification card.

(O) Routine utilization of the automated system known as `Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements'.

(P) Establishing a system for ensuring that, in every case in which the State issues a driver's license or identification card that does not satisfy the these security measures, the license or identification card clearly states on its face that it may not be accepted by any Federal agency for any official purpose and uses a design or color indicator to alert Federal agencies that it may not be accepted for any such purpose.

(b) Study on Consequences of Making Driver's Licenses Unavailable to Undocumented Aliens- Commencing not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the adverse consequences that could result from preventing aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States from obtaining driver's licenses, taking into account the probability that such an alien will drive without a license if rendered ineligible to receive one based on such unlawful status.

(c) Report to Congress-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress and the Secretary of Homeland Security a report on the findings and recommendations resulting from the studies described in subsections (a) and (b).

(2) ELEMENTS- The report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) The assessment of the Comptroller General on each matter addressed by such studies.

(B) Any recommendation of the Comptroller General for administrative action on any matter specified in subsection (a) or (b) that the Comptroller General considers necessary to better protect the security of driver's licenses and identification cards issued by the States.

(C) Any recommendation of the Comptroller General for legislative action on any matter specified in subsection (a) or (b) that the Comptroller General considers necessary to better protect the security of driver's licenses and identification cards issued by the States.

(3) FORM- If necessary, the Comptroller General may submit a classified and unclassified version of the report.

(d) Appropriate Committees of the Congress Defined- In this section, the term `appropriate committees of the Congress' means--

(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and

(2) the Committee on the Judiciary and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States House of Representatives.

END