Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members, my name is Andrew Rivas and I am the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference. The TCC is the statewide association of the 15 Roman Catholic dioceses in our state and it is our responsibility to advocate for the public policy positions of the active Bishops of Texas. Thank you for the opportunity to share our support for HB 277, which expands access to driver’s licenses and identification documents.

Recently the Public Safety Commission adopted new rules without legislative authority concerning the issuance of drivers’ licenses and identification cards to non-citizens. Creating more obstacles to obtaining a driver’s license increases the chance that people will drive without a license.  More unlicensed drivers means more uninsured drivers, which carries with it negative public safety and financial consequences for all Texans.  Furthermore, identification documents are the first tool for law enforcement to track suspects, yet the rules discourage the obtaining of such a document and result in pushing many people further into the shadows. These rules punish and exclude some of the most vulnerable and hardworking people in our communities, and do not achieve their stated purpose of making our communities more secure or law-abiding.  It is wrong to use immigrant labor to pave our roads, and yet deny them the right to drive on them.  It is simply not good public policy to deny access to secure identification, registration, and car insurance for a segment of our society.

Bishop Joe Vasquez of the diocese of Austin has said that, “drivers' licenses and other state-issued identification documents are critical to the public safety of all Texans.  Regardless of a person's immigration status, the community is safer when drivers have completed the basic training and test and when residents are registered in the system. "

The Texas Catholic Conference encourages the members of the committee to support HB 277.