Oregon legislation

Immigration group gears up for referendum on driver's card bill

An immigration group looking to overturn a recently passed law that allows residents without proof of legal presence to get driver’s cards ramped up their efforts Tuesday to bring the issue before Oregon voters.

Beneath a canopy outside the state Capitol, Oregonians for Immigration Reform officials passed out manila envelopes that included signature sheets for a referendum on Senate Bill 833.

The driver’s cards under the bill, which Gov. John Kitzhaber signed in May, would last four years instead of the standard eight years. Driver card applicants must meet other requirements, including knowledge of traffic laws and driving skills.

Sponsors of the referendum efforts would have to gather 58,142 valid signatures and file them by Sept. 26, which is 90 days after the targeted adjournment of the 2013 Legislature. The law would be suspended instead of taking effect in January if enough signatures were gathered to force a statewide election on the bill.

“It’s a herculean task but I think that Oregonians are really angry that this (bill) was rammed through,” said Cynthia Kendoll, the president for Oregonians for Immigration Reform.

The group was also protesting a federal immigration bill that would provide undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. Buttons that read “Stop Illegal Immigration” were scattered on a table.

Supporters of the short-term driver cards argue the bill is about increasing public safety on the state’s roads not about immigration. But opponents say the new law would just condone illegal behavior.

Republican Reps. Sal Esquivel of Medford and Kim Thatcher of Keizer, and Richard LaMountain of Portland, recently filed the referendum papers for the bill with the secretary of state.

Esquivel told about two dozen people gathered on the Capitol steps in the rain that he doesn’t think the bill will help increase public safety and lawmakers who voted for the bill aren’t upholding the law.

“We are a country of laws. If you break the law to come here. Why would we allow that?,” Esquivel asked.

He unrolled a lengthy list of requirements residents have to meet to get a standard driver’s license, arguing that U.S. citizens were being treated as second rate.

Thatcher also announced the introduction of House Bill 3535, which would direct the Oregon Department of Transportation to report annually on the effects of implementing the driver’s card bill.

If the driver’s card bill is overturned, House Bill 3535 would not take effect.

By about 12:30 p.m., the group had distributed about 40 packets to those interested in gathering signatures for the referendum efforts.

If their measure qualifies for a statewide election, it would appear on the November 2014 ballot, although lawmakers can provide for a different date.

Luis Guerra, acting executive director of Causa, an immigration rights association that pushed for the passage of Senate Bill 833, said the group is keeping a close eye on the referendum efforts.

Guerra said that the driver’s card bill got bipartisan support in both legislative chambers and should be viewed as a public safety issue.

“We realize that they have a lot of signatures they need to collect so we’ll prepare as we need to based on how much work we see them accomplish,” he said. Read more about Immigration group gears up for referendum on driver's card bill

OFIR meeting June 1 at 2:00pm - SB833 Referendum, join us and learn more

Alert date: 
May 17, 2013
Alert body: 

Don't miss this meeting!  If you have never been actively involved in the immigration issue, now is the time to jump into the pool.

Saturday, June 1 at 2:00pm, OFIR will host its quarterly meeting at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn, just across from Costco in Salem.

We will be discussing the just filed referendum on SB833.  "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" will be collecting 58,142 valid signatures of Oregon's registered voters to force the issue of giving driver privilege cards to illegal aliens on to the ballot.  We think Oregon citizens should decide, with their vote, if this is what we want in our state.

Come and learn more about this destructive bill, how it was fast-tracked through the Legislature, how we can stop it and what YOU can do to help!

Bring your friends and pick up the supplies you need to collect signatures of your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors.  We need your help NOW!

See you there!  Please remember to send in your signature sheets as you fill them.  We will also be collecting them at the meeting on Saturday.

How many filled signature sheets will you turn in at the meeting?
 

An invitation to join us Tuesday, May 21 at the Capitol

Alert date: 
May 17, 2013
Alert body: 

Please join OFIR this coming Tuesday, May 21st from 11:00am - 1:00pm on the front steps of the Capitol Building in Salem.

We will be participating in the National 1986 Remembrance Day, which is designed for us all to reflect on the impact of the mass amnesty bill passed in 1986.

Speakers will address the National Amnesty bill now circulating through Congress and highlight the most egregious aspects of the bill.

Legislators Rep. Kim Thatcher and Sal Esquivel will speak about the impact of illegal immigration on Oregonians.

Also, as many of you already know, a referendum to STOP SB833 (a law issuing driver privilege cards to illegal aliens) before it is enacted has been filed by  "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" .

Your help is needed to collect signatures of Oregon's registered voters.  We need 58,142 signatures by mid September (90 days after the last day of this Legislative session).  Our goal is to get SB833 on the ballot and give Oregon's citizen's a voice on the issue...with their NO VOTE in November 2014.

On tuesday, at the Capitol, "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" will have packets with all you need to collect signatures.  Please stop by and pick one up.  We need all hands on deck to get the signatures we need by the deadline.                                                                                                                                              

Caution:  Because the Legislature is still in session, signatures may NOT be collected on Capitol grounds. 

Your financial contribution would be greatly appreciated, too. The costs involved in operating such an undertaking are enormous.  We would appreciate your help with a contribution of any size to help offset these expenses.

Please plan to join us Tuesday, May 21 from 11:00am - 1pm on the steps of the Oregon Capitol.  You are welcome to bring appropriate signs, banners, flags to help spread the message...NO AMNESTY, NO PATH TO CITIZENSHIP, NO EXCEPTIONS.

See you there! 

Attention Registered Voters in OREGON: It doesn't get any easier than this

Alert date: 
June 2, 2013
Alert body: 

Attention Registered Voters in OREGON  It doesn't get much easier than this folks.  An issue dedicated website is now open containing all the information you need about SB 833 and the Protect Oregon Driver Licenses referendum.   The URL is:  http://www.protectoregondl.org/

You can view a complete copy of SB 833 and the single signature petition on the site.

SB 833 signed bill. This is the full bill passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor on May 1, 2013 giving driver privilege cards to illegal aliens.

Petition signature sheet (electronic version). This is a single signature sheet. It includes a summary of SB 833 written in the Secretary of State's office. To sign the petition, simply print this sheet on white paper only - colored paper is not allowed. Then follow instructions on the sheet. Mail signed petition sheets to the address below. Note: Signature sheets are not to be printed out and distributed. They are for personal use only.

The Signature Sheet may appear confusing at first.  It is a standard form used by the Secretary of State for any bill passed on which citizens wish to file a Referendum.  The top section text is supplied by the Secretary of State and identifies the substance of the bill in question.  The bottom section is where citizens send a message, by signing the petition, to the Secretary of State requesting a vote by the people The reference to full and correct copy of the text refers in our case, to SB 833 as passed.

The longer, 10-signature sheets are now available upon request. Please email or call us and let us know how many signature sheets (10 names each) you would like to have sent to you. We need your help collecting signatures.  There are hundreds of opportunities at which to collect signatures in the summer. And remember your friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers may all be interested in participating. 

You can also pick up supplies at many of the upcoming events in which OFIR will be participating.  We will keep you posted!

Many thanks to members for all the enthusiastic, encouraging messages received about this project. 


Protect Oregon Driver Licenses
PO Box 7354
Salem OR 97303

503-435-0141

Send an email to Protect Oregon Driver Licenses

OFIR VP explains the flawed thinking behind SB833

Rick LaMountain is a gifted writer and has, once again, written such a clear headed article explaining why SB833 is not good for Oregon.  He explains the flawed and harmful thinking that went into the jettisoned legislation that went from first introduction to law in under one month.  Read Rick's article here. Read more about OFIR VP explains the flawed thinking behind SB833

Rep. Thatcher speaks out against SB833

Representative Kim Thatcher, a Chief Petitioner for the referendum campaign against SB833 expressed her concerns about the bill in a just published Guest Opinion.
  Read more about Rep. Thatcher speaks out against SB833

From his blog to ours, Rep. Richardson speaks out

The Driver Card Bill (Senate Bill 833), passed the Senate, the House and has been signed into law by Gov. Kitzhaber.

I voted against issuing driver cards to those who cannot prove legal residency after learning the experience of other states where such laws have been tested. (Watch a video of my floor debate against Senate Bill 833 on YouTube.)

New Mexico’s illegal immigrant drivers’ law failed to achieve its goal of lessening the number of uninsured drivers. Investigations revealed New Mexico’s law was a magnet that attracted additional illegal immigration into their state. In addition, New Mexico’s governor says she wishes their law could be repealed — citing problems relating to fraud, human trafficking, organized crime and national security.

After several years, Tennessee repealed its driving certificate laws. Investigators discovered non-residents were being shuttled to Tennessee and driving certificates were being issued based on false residency documents and even bribery of government officials.

In short, the desire to help thousands of undocumented workers and their families be assimilated into Oregon society may be well-intended, but the new Oregon driver card may have unintended consequences. When states such as Tennessee and New Mexico have documented, widespread fraud and abuse of their driver cards, and have either repealed their laws or have a governor who wishes the laws were terminated, Oregon should beware.

Like it or not, the Oregon driver card law will become effective Jan. 1, 2014. Time will tell whether or not the Oregon driver card was good policy or fraught with negative unintended consequences.

Rep. Dennis Richardson

http://blogs.esouthernoregon.com/southern-oregon-legislators/2013/05/03/why-i-voted-against-driver-cards/

  Read more about From his blog to ours, Rep. Richardson speaks out

Esquivel files to kill new driver's licence law

SALEM — Medford state representative Sal Esquivel and a fellow GOP legislator want voters to decide whether to overturn a new law that allows illegal immigrants in Oregon to obtain driver's licenses.

Esquivel, Rep. Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Portland activist Richard LaMountain with the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform are sponsors of a referendum submitted to the Secretary of State's Office Wednesday.

Referendum supporters will have to work quickly if they want to make the November 2014 ballot. They'll have to gather more than 58,000 valid signatures from registered voters within 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.

The law is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, but it would be put on hold until after the election if referendum proponents successfully force a vote.

Critics say the law rewards illegal actions and might encourage more people without legal documents to come to Oregon.

"If someone is willing to disregard immigration laws, what other laws are they willing to disregard?" Thatcher said last month.

Esquivel, the son of immigrants, questioned the value of the law in a May 1 story in the Mail Tribune.

"They broke the law getting in the country, broke the law working, broke the law driving and broke the law by being uninsured," Esquivel said. "... I don't see where the card makes them buy insurance. Let's face the facts. They're not going to buy it."

Supporters, however, say it would make Oregon's roads safer by reducing the number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers.

"(The referendum) is trying to make this about immigration when this is a public safety issue about Oregon's roads," said Jeff Stone, director of Oregon Association of Nurseries and an architect of the law.

Stone said he's disappointed by the referendum, especially because the legislation passed with bipartisan support.

Gov. John Kitzhaber signed the bill last week before a throng of cheering supporters in front of the Capitol.

The law would allow tens of thousands of immigrants living in Oregon without legal permission to get driver's licenses good for four years, half as long as a standard Oregon license. Immigrants and others who don't have documents proving they are in the country lawfully, including elderly and homeless people, could apply for the driver's licenses if they've lived in Oregon for at least a year and meet other requirements.

The restricted driver's licenses could not be used to vote, board a plane or buy a firearm. The licenses would be marked "Driver's Card" to distinguish them from a standard Oregon license.
  Read more about Esquivel files to kill new driver's licence law

SB833 Referendum preparing for take off

Alert date: 
May 10, 2013
Alert body: 

The final preparations are being completed as the "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" referendum campaign is nearing take off.  Fasten you seatbelts!

Petition signature sheets are in their final approval stage and soon we will begin printing and distributing supplies.

If you are interested in helping to collect signatures, please click on the "contact us" link and sign up.  We are compiling a list of volunteers.

If you are interested, and are able to help financially, please do!  The expense to undertake such a project is great.  Any financial assistance you can give would be appreciated and would be put to very good use over-turning this destructive legislation.

Another suggestion, while we are dotting all the "i's" and crossing all the "t's" would be to write a letter to the Editor.  We would like to flood the papers with letters of support for this campaign.  For inspiration, visit the letters section of our website.

Standby for take-off!
 

Oregon driver-card opponents file referendum papers

Opponents, as expected, have started their effort to force a statewide election on four-year driver’s cards for Oregonians who do not qualify for standard eight-year licenses.

Republican Reps. Sal Esquivel of Medford and Kim Thatcher of Keizer, and Richard LaMountain of Portland, filed the referendum papers with the secretary of state.

They hope to overturn Senate Bill 833, which lawmakers approved and Gov. John Kitzhaber signed on May 1. The bill would allow four-year cards for those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States and do not qualify for licenses, which also can be used for federal identification purposes such as boarding commercial aircraft and entering federal buildings.

The referendum effort was announced last week by Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which opposed the bill, hours after Kitzhaber signed it. Esquivel and Thatcher both spoke against the bill during a House debate April 30.

Referendum sponsors will have to gather 58,142 valid signatures by 90 days after the end of the 2013 Legislature. That deadline would fall on Sept. 26 if lawmakers adjourn by their target of June 28.

If their measure qualifies for a statewide election, the attorney general will write a ballot title, which is an official summary. The measure would then appear on the November 2014 ballot, although lawmakers can provide for a different date. The law would be suspended pending the outcome of the election.

If their measure does not qualify for a statewide election, the law will take effect Jan. 1.

Oregon would join Washington, New Mexico, Utah and Illinois in providing alternatives to driver licenses. The 2005 federal law does allow alternatives to licenses as long as they are clearly marked invalid for federal identification purposes. Read more about Oregon driver-card opponents file referendum papers

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