Well, we got what we wanted in our state as far as requiring legal residence to obtain a driver's license. This state had become a magnet for those who wanted to obtain those credentials in an unscrupulous fashion, but finally our legislature enacted law to make legal residency a requirement.

Now the motor vehicle department needs to craft a policy to ensure that that legislation is adhered to. So, all of this week it is holding public hearings around the state. Opponents of the legislation may argue that it will be difficult to make sure any document is not false, or that some people who are legal residents may not be able to prove that fact and so be denied critical driving privileges. So the DMV is between a rock and a hard place: making sure it denies privileges in accordance with the new law but being generous and reasonable with those who have a legitimate need within the provisions of the law. So how will they do this? The ball is now in our court; we should come up with suggestions so that they can fairly implement this and guarantee that lawful residents will be able to drive legally.

Some people are bound to say that it is simply unworkable.

What ID is universally available but hard to forge? What do those on a temporary visa show at the DMV office----- that cannot be duplicated by sophisticated copying machines. While original birth certificates would generally be valid, many people no longer have those in their possession. I didn't and had to get new one, but the new ones could be forged by a sophisticated copying device. I will say that the paper has a significant amount of watermarks, but I don't think it is impossible to forge. A non legal resident could find someone with a similar ethnic background and age who did have a birth certificate and make a copy.

I expect that Motor Vehicles will have to come up with a final list of ACCEPTABLE ID, that is nearly tamper proof.

Well the ball is in our court now. Any suggestions?