HOUSE BILL 401
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011
INTRODUCED BY
David C. Chavez
AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR A GUEST DRIVER'S PERMIT FOR UNDOCUMENTED PERSONS; REQUIRING AN IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND DOCUMENTATION OF AUTHORIZED PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLICATION; 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) has passed a drug and alcohol test, 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;
(4) is free of a felony conviction;
(5) is not a United States citizen and who does not possess a social security number or valid documentation issued by the United States that authorizes the person's presence in the United States; and
(6) 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 through the national crime information center to verify that the applicant is free of a felony conviction; and
(3) by October 1, 2011, promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this section.
C. The guest driver's permit itself shall conspicuously state: "This permit is only valid for driving privileges in New Mexico and is not proof of valid presence in the United States.".
D. 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.
E. 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.
F. 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 two hundred dollars ($200). 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 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] applicants who are not citizens of the United States but who have 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.
C. An applicant shall indicate whether [he] 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 [less than] who is under eighteen years of age and who is making an application to be granted [his] a first New Mexico driver's license shall submit evidence that [he] the applicant has:
(1) successfully completed a driver education course that included a DWI prevention and education program approved by the bureau or offered by a public school. 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 the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of the application for the driver's license;
(3) complied with restrictions on that license;
(4) not been convicted of a traffic violation committed during the ninety days prior to applying for a driver's license;
(5) not been cited for a traffic violation that is pending at the time of [his] the application; and
(6) 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 [his] the application.
E. An applicant who is eighteen years of age [and] or over, but [less than] under twenty-five years of age, who is making an application to be granted [his] a first New Mexico driver's license shall submit evidence with [his] the application that [he] the applicant has successfully completed a bureau-approved DWI prevention and education program.
F. An applicant who is twenty-five years of age [and] 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 [his] a first New Mexico driver's license, shall submit evidence with [his] the application that [he] 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. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2011.
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