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Officials look to edit ‘driver card’ ballot title

Measure supporters want no mention of the applicant’s immigr
The Register-Guard
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SALEM — State lawmakers on Tuesday gave an initial nod of approval to a bill that would rewrite the ballot title for the November referendum on short-term drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants.

The effort to change the title has infuriated opponents of the licenses, who gathered enough signatures to suspend implementation of the new license program, passed by lawmakers in 2013, and force the statewide vote this fall.

The current ballot title, drafted by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to describe the measure, reads: “Provides Oregon resident ‘driver card’ without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States.” That title was appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, where it is being reviewed.

Some lawmakers don’t like the phrasing, which suggests the licenses could go to people who lack documentation showing they are legally in this country.

Because lawmakers were the ones who passed the law in 2013, they have legal standing to pass a new law writing the ballot title.

An amendment to House Bill 4054, introduced and adopted Tuesday morning, would drop the reference to “proof of legal presence” from the title. The new title would read: “Establishes limited purpose, duration driver card for individuals who prove Oregon residency, meet driving requirements.”

In the new draft, the reference to “proof of legal presence” would appear once, in the ballot measure’s summary below the title in the voter’s pamphlet.

The House Rules Committee approved the amended bill 6-3 on Tuesday, with three Republicans opposing it. It now heads to the full House, with a vote expected today.

If HB 4054 is enacted this session, opponents would not have any opportunity to legally challenge the new title before the election. The attorney general’s title would be void before it is ruled on by the Supreme Court.

Proponents of the change say the ballot title drafted by Rosenblum doesn’t reflect the intent of the bill passed by the Legislature last year.

That bill, Senate Bill 833, would grant four-year “driver cards” to illegal immigrants who can provide proof of identity and of at least one year of Oregon residency, and pass a driving test.

Backers argue that the driver cards would increase safety on the roads, by allowing all immigrant drivers in Oregon to buy car insurance and receive driving instruction.

Rep. Jessica Vega-Pederson, a Portland Democrat, said that she believes Oregon voters “deserve to weigh in (on the issue) based on accurate information.”

The new proposed title “reflects both the content and the intent” of SB 833, she said.

Rep. Vic Gilliam, a Silverton Republican, said he does “not respect the ballot title” drafted by the Department of Justice, adding that the “work appears ... to be rather sloppy.”

Changing the title isn’t intended “to confuse or defuse” the controversial issue, Gilliam said. But, he added, “most voters are going to get their ballot in the mail and they need clear, precise, and easy to understand messages on ballot measures (and) on referendums.”

For lawmakers to change the title “is an odd step but it is well within our purview,” he added.

But Rep. Vicki Berger, a Salem Republican, said she believed the proposed change is “inappropriate” and “basically circumvents a (title drafting) process that is long-standing.”

“In this case it appears the Legislature is unhappy with what the attorney general does and feels that it needs to redo the job that was done,” she said.

After the hearing, Cynthia Kendoll, the president of advocacy group Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which collected signatures to refer the matter to voters, said she was “disgusted” by the legislative effort to change the title’s wording.

The new title “is stupid, intentionally misleading, and deceitful,” she said.

Supporters of the drivers’ cards “got worried that they were going to lose this one (in November), so they decided to pull out their ‘Ace in the hole,’” she said. “What is the purpose of having a voter referral process if legislators and the governor get to rewrite the ballot language after they wrote the (initial) bill to begin with?”

“It just seems like thuggery, something you’d see in a third-world country,” Kendoll added. “Just because they can (change the title), doesn’t mean they should.”