Tuesday, January 28th 2025, 6:23 pm
A bill to expand driver's license eligibility in Oklahoma regardless of immigration status is in the works.
State Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City is the author of Senate Bill 399 and believes it will make it safer for everyone on the roads.
Q: What would Senate Bill 399 do?
"It expands driver's license eligibility regardless of immigration status, and so rather than see that power over to the federal government to determine who gets driver's licenses in the state of Oklahoma, this empowers the state of Oklahoma to be able to determine who gets a license. I think if you live in Oklahoma, you have to be able to drive."
Q: How do you determine who gets a license?
"We base it on who pays their fair share. Who pays their state and federal income tax? By giving them an opportunity to get a driver's license, that means that they would have to pass a driver's license like everybody else."
Q: This marks the third attempt to pass this bill. Why do you continue to push for it?
"The reason I push for driver's license eligibility and expanding it is because there are a lot of policy benefits. Based on the way that my bill is written, it stands to increase revenue to the state of Oklahoma by about $50 million. In addition to that, other states that have expanded driver's license eligibility, their uninsured motorist rate has gone down by as much as 75 percent.”
Q: Do you believe this bill will increase public safety? How?
"It makes police officers safer when they make traffic stops. People who get the license would be submitting their information to the largest law enforcement database in the U.S. which is your driving record. If we had an opportunity to create a way that law enforcement can verify someone's identity, I think it would make everybody a lot safer."
Q: How would you address concerns from opponents who may think this may incentivize illegal immigration in the state?
"As issues have come up, I’ve been willing to amend the bill to be able to make it a better bill. So, one of the things we did, is we worked into the bill a "proof of presence" requirement. So, the people who would be eligible for a driver's license would have to prove that they were already present in the state of Oklahoma by a certain date, and if they can't prove that then they wouldn't be eligible for a license here in the state of Oklahoma."
View a 2024 report from a state task force created by Governor Stitt that aligns with the bill.
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