GOV. CHARLIE BAKER wouldn’t say on Thursday whether he intends to veto an immigrant license bill if it reaches his desk, but he appeared to dispute a lead sponsor’s contention that the bill as passed by the House satisfies the governor’s concerns about the legislation.
The House on Wednesday voted 120-36 — a veto-proof margin — in favor of legislation allowing undocumented residents of Massachusetts to obtain driver’s licenses if they have at least two supplemental documents proving their identity, birth date, and Massachusetts residency.
Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett, the House chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, said the bill has nothing to do with immigration. He said the bill is a driver safety measure because it requires undocumented drivers to take safety courses and obtain insurance to drive legally.
Straus said the bill’s identification requirements meet the “Baker standard” for ensuring that drivers applying for the licenses are who they say they are.
Addressing reporters after an event in Somerset, Baker didn’t address the Baker standard specifically but said he wished the House had passed an amendment offered by Rep. Brad Jones of North Reading that would have required the Registry of Motor Vehicles to provide information on any driver to any city or town clerk “seeking to verify the identity and eligibility of any individual using a Massachusetts license to vote or to register to vote.”
Baker said he wished Jones’s amendment had passed. “That would have been a big statement by the Legislature that this really is about driving and not anything else,” he said.
The House-passed measure now goes to the Senate.
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