Number
181816
Version
ORIGINAL
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. PEREZ, BAUMAN, DODD, BORKOWSKI, JOHNSON, ZIELINSKI, COGGS AND LEWIS
Title
Resolution supporting provisions in the 2019-2020 Biennial Wisconsin State Budget providing full driver license access to all Wisconsin residents who have initiated citizenship application.
Analysis
This resolution expresses the Common Council’s support of provisions in the 2019-2020 Biennial Wisconsin State Budget that provide full driver license access to all Wisconsin residents who have initiated citizenship application.
Body
Whereas, The State of Wisconsin requires U.S. citizenship or legal residence to obtain a State identification card or driver license; and
Whereas, Many communities in Wisconsin lack adequate public transportation, creating barriers for people without a driver license to attend to their basic needs, including commuting to work, taking children to school, shopping for necessities such as food and clothes, going to clinics and hospitals for medical visits, and visiting places of worship; and
Whereas, The U.S. Census Bureau reported in the 2017 American Community Survey that approximately 71 percent of Milwaukee residents regularly drive to work; and
Whereas, Kids Forward, formerly the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, reported in the November 2018 Wisconsin Budget Project document, “Widen the Road: Removing Barriers to Driver License Eligibility Will Improve Safety, Support Families, and Boost Business,” that removing state restrictions would improve overall driver safety by allowing undocumented immigrants to undergo the requisite tests to obtain a license, lower insurance premiums statewide by approximately $16 million by enlarging the pool of insured persons by approximately 28,000, and raise an additional $2 million toward state transportation objectives from the annual vehicle registration fee; and
Whereas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland...
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