People in the country illegally could get a driver license under a bill approved Tuesday by the Oregon House. The vote sends the measure to Governor John Kitzhaber. He plans to sign it during a May Day rally in Salem Wednesday.
Under current Oregon law, you can't get a driver license if you can't prove you're in the country legally. This bill creates licenses that would be good for four years -- not eight years like normal ones.
You also couldn't use one as ID to board a plane or buy a gun.
Supporters like Ramon Ramirez of the Oregon farmworkers’ union known as PCUN say the measure is not so much about immigration...
"This is really about a public safety issue, of getting people that are driving on the roads currently a driver license, insured," Ramirez says. "And I think our message got across loud and clear. So this is a really important day."
Some GOP lawmakers said the bill rewards people who enter the country illegally. Most Republicans voted against the measure.
On the Web:
SB 833: Driver licenses for people in the country illegally - Oregon Legislature
Oregon's current driver license rules - Oregon DMV