This month: driver's licenses in California and an update on immigration reform.

California Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Persons

On October 3, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law, known as Assembly Bill 60, which requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to undocumented persons who can (i) provide identity, (ii) prove California residency, and (iii) pass the driving exams. The law will go into effect no later than January 1, 2015.

See http://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB60/2013 for the full text of Assembly Bill 60.

Other states with similar access to driver's licenses in place or soon to be effective include Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont and Connecticut. (See map of current driver's license laws at: http://www.nilc.org/driverlicensemap.html)

Text of New Immigration Bill Released from the House of Representatives

Immigration Reform continues to chug along through the House of Representatives. On October 2, 2013, Democrats in the House of Representatives proposed H.R. 15, based on S. 744, the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate on June 27, 2013. H.R. 15 removes the Corker-Hoeven border security amendment and replaces it with the bipartisan House border security bill, H.R. 1417, passed unanimously by the Homeland Security Committee in May 2013. A guide to H.R. 15 is available at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/guide-hr-15-border-security-economic-opportunity-and-immigration-modernization-act