Driver card referendum: House panel advances bill to rewrite ballot title

SALEM --

....Lawmakers propose to change the ballot title to "Establishes limited purpose, duration driver card for individuals who prove Oregon residency, meet driving requirements."

The title would emphasize residency requirements and remove the reference to "legal presence" in the current version of the title: "Provides Oregon resident 'driver card' without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States."

...The bill would also rewrite the summary of the measure and the effects of a yes or no vote.

..."In my view, using the 'proof of legal presence' phrase in some ways is appropriate because it is in the bill a couple of times, but to use it in the ballot title is a terribly gross misapplication of that term," he said.

Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, voted against advancing the bill to the floor and said it was inappropriate for the legislative branch to step in to rewrite a ballot title because it was "unhappy" with what Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wrote.

...."I have some real issues about the various branches of government staying within their work and purview."