With override, House moves Massachusetts closer to drivers’ licenses for unauthorized immigrants

The push to let unauthorized immigrants get Massachusetts driver’s licenses took a big step ahead Wednesday when the Massachusetts Home emphatically overrode a veto by Gov. Charlie Baker.

On Could 27, Baker vetoed a invoice permitting the licenses. On Wednesday, 119 state representatives voted in favor of an override and 36 voted in opposition to. A two-thirds vote in each the Home and Senate is required to override a gubernatorial veto.

The end result Monday was not sudden. The Home initially handed laws to broaden license eligibility by a equally huge margin in February, practically three months earlier than the state Senate adopted swimsuit. Nonetheless, the chamber burst into loud applause when the ultimate tally was introduced simply earlier than 2 p.m.

In an announcement emailed instantly after, Elizabeth Candy, the manager director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, praised the Home vote, saying the invoice — dubbed the Work and Household Mobility Act by supporters — will “each strengthen our financial system and strengthen relations between immigrants and legislation enforcement” if, as anticipated, it turns into legislation.

For that to occur, the state Senate may also have to override the veto. It handed the laws in Could with a veto-proof majority.

A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka mentioned the Senate plans to take up Baker’s veto on Thursday.

The pending laws would permit unauthorized immigrants to acquire drivers’ licenses if they will present proof of their identification, date of beginning, and Massachusetts residency, and meet different customary necessities for licensure.

If the invoice lastly turns into legislation, it might make Massachusetts the seventeenth state to take such a step, in response to the Nationwide Convention of State Legislatures.

Because the proposal superior on Beacon Hill this yr, supporters waged a sustained public-relations marketing campaign, together with an April occasion at which a number of big-city mayors voiced their help.

At that occasion, Chelsea Metropolis Supervisor Tom Ambrosino made a public-safety argument for the laws, whereas noting that 45 % of Chelsea residents have been born exterior the USA and that lots of them lack authorized standing.

“I’ve little doubt it should enhance public security in our neighborhood,” Ambrosino mentioned on the time. “Having extra of our residents educated and legitimately licensed and insured on the street will completely make a distinction in security. And I feel that’s why [Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes] and the main police chiefs and different public-safety organizations help this effort.”

In a daily press convention with Spilka and Home Speaker Ron Mariano earlier this week, Baker reiterated his perception that — as a result of Massachusetts routinely registers candidates for driver’s licenses to vote — the measure may result in confusion about voting eligibility.

“[By] including a brand new course of and a brand new set of eligibles, utilizing documentation that the [Registry of Motor Vehicles] has not seen earlier than … we’re creating a difficulty for cities and cities round eligibility,” Baker mentioned Monday.

The proposed laws would require the RMV, working in session with the secretary of state, to create procedures that guarantee candidates who don’t present proof of lawful residency usually are not routinely registered to vote.