In advance of Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget announcement next Tuesday, we’re asking local leaders what they want to see in it.
The Coalition for Safe Roads says: allow residents to earn a driving certificate if they don’t qualify for a state driver’s license because of citizenship requirements.
Coalition members said in a Friday press conference that the driver’s certificate would increase public safety because all drivers would be required to take written and road driving exams and then obtain insurance. The certificates would not be used for official identification purposes, but they would ensure that all drivers know the proper rules of the road.
Currently, as a result of the Real ID Act, drivers who don’t have a Social Security number are not allowed to obtain a valid driver’s license in Wisconsin. So unlicensed, untested and uninsured drivers are on the roads, posing a safety hazard to other drivers.
“We need to have all of our drivers licensed,” said Carl Malischke, a coalition member representing the 20-parish-strong Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH).
The coalition—comprised of immigrant-rights group Voces de la Frontera, SEIU Local 1, MICAH, UW-Milwaukee chapter of Students United for Immigrants Rights (SUFRIR), the Council for the Spanish Speaking and the African Immigrants in Milwaukee Association—traveled to Gov. Doyle’s office today to deliver 2,736 postcards in support of driver’s certificates.
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The Real ID Act allows states to opt out of this provision. The coalition says that their proposal, modeled on a Utah program, should be included in the governor’s budget and would boost revenue and public safety in the state.
