Alternate IDs allowed for driver’s licenses
Dept. of Revenue loosens restrictions despite veto
By ED SEALOVER
THE GAZETTE
September 3, 2007 - 11:42PM

DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed a bill in June that would have expanded the types of documents used to obtain a driver’s license. Three months later, most of those documents are allowed by the Department of Revenue.

New rules drawn up by the department took effect Aug. 1. They permit people to present passports at Department of Motor Vehicles offices in addition to recently expired licenses to get a new license, and they allow residents to show a combination of documents and go through an exemption process where the legality of those documents is verified by investigators.

The changes were made after the state was successfully sued by homeless advocates claiming previous requirements were so strict that they kept legal residents from acquiring identification.

Legislators passed House Bill 1313 earlier this year to broaden the types of documents that could be accepted by clerks in the driver’s license offices, but Ritter vetoed it, saying it is a policy decision that should be made by the executive branch.

Former Gov. Dick Lamm and Secretary of State Mike Coffman were among the officials who asked Ritter to reject the bill, saying it would be easier for illegal immigrants to get documented.

Many of the documents that would have been allowed by the bill are accepted now through an exemption process, said Roni White, director of the driver’s license section. People turned away for, say, having a license that expired more than a year ago, can come back with school records and a birth certificate and plead their cases to investigators.

White did not have precise figures on the number of people that now go through the exemption process, but she said about three-quarters of them are approved. Once a license is granted, the holder needs only to present that license again to renew it in the future.

“It’s tough on customer service,â€