SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2011 SESSION

  • | print version

HJ 678 Motor Vehicles, Virginia Department of; JLARC to study implementation of "legal presence".

Introduced by: David L. Englin | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Study; implementation of "legal presence" by the Department of Motor Vehicles; report.  Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the implementation of "legal presence" by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. In conducting its study, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall, among other things, (i) review federal and state laws requiring proof of legal presence and the application of the laws by the Department of Motor Vehicles in issuing driver's licenses and identification cards; (ii) ascertain the number of driver's licenses and identification cards issued to legal residents and unauthorized immigrants in Virginia each year; (iii) review the procedures used by and assistance provided to Virginians who are legal residents of the United States but have difficulty satisfying the proof of legal presence requirement; (iv) evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the proof of legal presence law in protecting and promoting the welfare of citizens; (v) determine the impact of the law on legal residents of the Commonwealth in obtaining driver's licenses and identification cards; (vi) identify the types of documents accepted by the Department of Motor Vehicles from legal residents and foreign nationals whose only form of identification to prove legal presence in the United States is the federal Employment Authorization Document (EAD); (vii) identify, if any, documents other than the EAD which are accepted by the Department of Motor Vehicles to verify proof of legal presence of persons who hold or are protected under the following types of legal presence status: temporary protected status, withholding of removal status, political asylum, labor certification, employment-based immigrant visas, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), T-visas, and U-visas; and (viii) propose comprehensive recommendations to facilitate consistency in applying the proof of legal presence law, to relieve legal residents of undue burdens in documenting legal presence, and to minimize the issuance of driver's licenses and identification cards to unauthorized immigrants in the Commonwealth.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission must report its findings and recommendations to the 2012 Session of the General Assembly.


FULL TEXT

HISTORY