Fiona Ma Urges Legislature to Provide Licenses for California’s Undocumented

SACRAMENTO –Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) released the statement below, following yesterday’s vote on AB 1993 from the Senate Committee on Transportation:

“I am very disappointed about the outcomes of the Senate committee’s vote on my bill, AB 1993. This bill would have ended the unfair and unnecessary car impoundment policies which are resulting in severe financial hardships for low-income individuals and families in California. Our current system is just not working; while we allow undocumented individuals to buy vehicles, register them, and buy insurance, we impound their vehicles at the first stop. My colleagues in the Senate believe that the bigger problem is the lack of drivers licenses for undocumented individuals, and I agree. With this in mind, we need to make drivers licenses a viable option for the undocumented community. As the opposition to my bill emphatically stated, if we want responsible and safer streets, we need to test and license all of the drivers who need their vehicles. At the end of the day, the silver lining is that California is ready and in need of licenses for undocumented community members. I will continue to advocate and work with my colleagues in the Legislature to correct this injustice.”

For more information on Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, please visit: http://asmdc.org/members/a12/