driver cards signature submission 10.3.13.JPG
Opponents of a new law granting driving privileges to Oregonians who can’t prove their legal presence submitted about 60,000 signatures Oct. 3 to qualify a referendum for the November 2014 ballot. From left are Jim Ludwick, spokesman for Oregonians for Immigration Reform, Lee Vasche, executive director of the Signature Gathering Company of Oregon, Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, and Rep. Sal
…
driver cards signature submission 10.3.13.JPG
Opponents of a new law granting driving privileges to Oregonians who can’t prove their legal presence submitted about 60,000 signatures Oct. 3 to qualify a referendum for the November 2014 ballot. From left are Jim Ludwick, spokesman for Oregonians for Immigration Reform, Lee Vasche, executive director of the Signature Gathering Company of Oregon, Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, and Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford. (Yuxing Zheng/The Oregonian)
SALEM — In a divided vote, a House panel on Tuesday morning sent to the floor a bill that would rewrite the ballot title on the driver card referendum.
Lawmakers propose to change the ballot title to “Establishes limited purpose, duration driver card for individuals who prove Oregon residency, meet driving requirements.”
The title would emphasize residency requirements and remove the reference to “legal presence” in the current version of the title: “Provides Oregon resident ‘driver card’ without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States.”
The House Rules Committee voted 6 to 3 to send House Bill 4054 to the full House, which is expected to vote on it Wednesday. The bill would also rewrite the summary of the measure and the effects of a yes or no vote.
Driver cards have deeply divided supporters and opponents. The 2013 Legislature approved granting four-year driver cards. Opponents, hoping voters will overturn the law, gathered enough signatures to suspend it and put it on the ballot.
Supporters say the rewrite is needed to accurately reflect the intent of the legislation to improve public safety. Opponents say the Legislature would be overstepping.
“In order for voters to vote in an informed manner, they need to be able to vote on a measure that accurately reflects what’s in the bill we passed,” said Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, D-Portland, who worked on the amendment. The alternative title “reflects both the content and the intent of that measure.”
Vega Pederson also cited a memo from Legislative Counsel that says the Legislature has the legal authority to rewrite the ballot title.
The title written by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is “sloppy,” said Rep. Vic Gilliam, R-Silverton.
“In my view, using the ‘proof of legal presence’ phrase in some ways is appropriate because it is in the bill a couple of times, but to use it in the ballot title is a terribly gross misapplication of that term,” he said.
Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, voted against advancing the bill to the floor and said it was inappropriate for the legislative branch to step in to rewrite a ballot title because it was “unhappy” with what Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wrote.
“I think this bill as amended basically circumvents a process that is longstanding, and is inappropriate,” Berger said. “I have some real issues about the various branches of government staying within their work and purview.”
— Yuxing Zheng