Proof Of Citizenship Required To Renew A Texas Driver's License
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Tucked inside the state school finance bill is a provision requiring Texans to prove their citizenship, or legal status, before receiving their first or renewing an old driver's license.
Senator Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) sponsored the amendment. "It's important because your Texas driver's license is a secure form of identification, we use it to board airplanes, and that sort of thing," he said.
According to Williams, Texans with documents on file, like a birth certificate or a social security card, will not need to show verification again.
"If there is no record of your lawful presence in the U.S. then they're gonna require that when you renew your license. And everybody gets treated the same," explained Williams.
For about a year, the Texas Department of Public Safety has had a policy giving workers the option of asking for proof of citizenship, but the provision in the approved Senate Bill 1 will make it law.
If a driver has had their license for several decades and did not have to provide proof of citizenship when it was obtained the next time they renew the license they may be asked to prove citizenship.
Senate Bill 1 is now headed to Governor Perry's desk and is expected to be approved.
