Red Lighting The Green Light Bill
By Doug La Rocque
At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 14, the Rensselaer County Legislature approved a resolution that opposes the NYS Driver’s License and Privacy Act, sometimes referred to as the “Green Light Bill.” That legislation, currently before both the State Assembly and Senate, says in part “New York State should restore equal access to driver’s licenses by passing legislation S1747 to ensure that New York’s “Standard Licenses” be accessible to all state residents, regardless of immigration status.” According to the Republican Majority of the Legislature, this includes people in the country illegally (illegal aliens).
Legislative Vice-Chair Kelly Hoffman is quoted in the Majority’s press release as saying “Rensselaer County has always been welcoming to immigrants – they are what built our County – but rewarding lawbreakers by giving them driver’s licenses won’t make our roads safer.”
Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola has pledged not to issue a driver’s license to a so-called “illegal alien” and is quoted in the release as saying “My hope is once again county clerks from across this State join in opposition to this ill-conceived attempt to diminish the current value of our driver’s licenses.”
The vote on the resolution was 11 to 5, along party lines, with all Democratic members present voting in opposition. Legislative Minority Leader Peter Grimm said he supports the “Green Light” bill because it provides this segment of the population with some sort of identification, which he called “healthy for society,” and added that being able to show identification at anytime “is good.”
The Minority Leader also said that these immigrants need transportation, and to not let them have a driver’s license is “counter-productive.”
A recent poll by Siena College indicated that 61% of those surveyed were in opposition to the legislation.