HB 1313 - Help People Get Out Of Identity Hell

This bill also allows people being released from prison to use their Department of Corrections ID as a secondary document. This allows people to go to work after they are released instead of waiting for weeks to get identification. By then it's often to late.

SPEAKOUT Thousands of Colorado’s most vulnerable citizens remain caught in “identity hell,” unable to obtain a state-issued ID because they don’t have a state-issued ID. Gov. Bill Ritter has a chance to remedy this by signing House Bill 1313 into law.

Most Coloradans take their ability to document their identity and prove their citizenship for granted. Most have a driver’s license. Many have a certified copy of their birth certificate stored in a safe place. Some are fortunate enough to have a passport.

However, it doesn’t take much to push one into “identity hell.” A lost or stolen wallet, a house fire, or other disaster can quickly separate you from your proof of identity.

Many Coloradans, like the elderly, or residents of nursing homes or other institutions, no longer maintain current driver’s licenses or their original identification records. Others, like youth leaving foster care, do not have ready access to required ID documents.

Many homeless persons also find themselves in this situation, having neither a driver’s license nor a certified copy of their birth certificate.

Without a photo ID, homeless persons often find they cannot successfully move out of homelessness and toward self-sufficiency. They cannot get lawful employment or receive basic social services. They are denied access to clothing closets, shelters, food pantries, and certain public benefits, all of which help move people out of poverty. In attempting to obtain identity documentation, they find themselves in a Catch-22 of needing an ID to get an ID. To remedy this, the legislature passed HB 1313, clarifying the specific list of documents applicants must provide the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license or ID, as well as providing an exceptions and appeals process for those who cannot obtain the required documents.

HB 1313 clearly requires proof of identity, lawful presence in the United States and age in order to obtain a state-issued ID. In the large majority of cases, this means that the applicant will have to provide either a stand-alone document proving his identity and lawful presence, or a combination of “primary” or “secondary” documents.

Only four documents are sufficient by themselves for the issuance of a state ID: a U.S. passport, a foreign passport, a military ID, or a driver’s license from a state requiring proof of lawful presence.

If applicants lack a stand-alone document, they must provide at least one “primary” document and one “secondary” document. The only acceptable primary documents are birth certificates, a tribal identification document issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or a federally recognized tribe, or, in certain instances, a driver’s license from a state that requires proof of lawful presence. Each of these documents satisfies the standards for security and verifiability.

Most of allowable secondary documents (e.g., signed Social Security card, military ID card, certificate of marriage or divorce, health or insurance records, or adoption decrees) will also meet the standard as secure and verifiable documents. They provide further corroboration of the primary identification document.

Rocky Mountain News