Amendment #423 to H4100

Illegal Immigration and Driving Related Issues

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough, deMacedo of Plymouth, Barrows of Mansfield, Bastien of Gardner, Beaton of Shrewsbury, Adams of Andover, Boldyga of Southwick, D'Emilia of Bridgewater, Diehl of Whitman, Durant of Spencer, Fattman of Sutton, Ferguson of Holden, Frost of Auburn, Gifford of Wareham, Harrington of Groton, Howitt of Seekonk, Humason of Westfield, Hunt of Sandwich, Kuros of Uxbridge, Levy of Marlborough, Lombardo of Billerica, Lyons of Andover, O'Connell of Taunton, Orrall of Lakeville, Ross of Attleboro, Smola of Palmer, Vieira of Falmouth, Webster of Pembroke and Wong of Saugus move to amend the bill by inserting after SECTION XX, the following new sections:—

“SECTION XX. The first paragraph of section 2 of chapter 90 of the general laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second and third sentences and inserting in place thereof the following:—

If the owner is a corporation or business entity, the application shall contain the name of the corporation or business entity, the full address, including the street, city or town, state and zip code, the federal tax identification number or employer identification number if a corporation and the social security number if the business entity is a sole proprietorship and does not have a federal tax identification number. If the applicant is a natural person, the application shall contain his name, full residential address, date of birth, license number or identification card number issued by the registrar and such other particulars as the registrar may require. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in regulations adopted by the registrar, no registration shall be issued for a motor vehicle or trailer owned or leased by a natural person unless one of its registering owners or lessees holds a valid license, social security card issued by Social Security Administration, or other proof of legal presence. The registrar shall provide by regulation for exemptions for out-of-state students, military personnel, senior citizens and disabled persons.

SECTION XX. Section 12 of chapter 90 of the general laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking subsections (a) and (b) in their entirety, and inserting in place thereof the following:—

(a) Whoever knowingly employs for hire as a motor vehicle operator any person not licensed in accordance with this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 60 days or both such fine and imprisonment for a first offense, or, for a second or subsequent offense by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 or imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) Whoever knowingly permits a motor vehicle owned by him or under his control to be operated by a person who is unlicensed or whose license has been suspended or revoked shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 60 days or both such fine and imprisonment for a first offense, or, for a second or subsequent offense by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 or imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION XX. Section 20 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 10, the words “of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000” and inserting in place thereof the following:-—

by a fine of not more than $500 for a first offense or by imprisonment for not more than 10 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, for a second offense, by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 60 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, for any subsequent offense; provided however that when a person is brought before a district court for the initial appearance the court shall ascertain the immigration status of the individual by utilizing data available through the United States Department of Homeland Security, or any other relevant federal agency;

SECTION XX. Section 24 of chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following paragraph:-—

When any person charged with driving under the influence pursuant to this section is confined, for any period, in any correctional institution, prison, or local or regional holding facility in the commonwealth, the commissioner of the department of corrections, the county sheriff, or the municipal police chief or other officer shall make a reasonable effort to verify that the prisoner has been lawfully admitted to the United States and if lawfully admitted, that such lawful status has not expired. If verification of lawful status cannot be made from documents in the possession of the prisoner, verification shall be made within 48 hours through a query to the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) of the United States Department of Homeland Security or other office or agency designated for that purpose by the United States Department of Homeland Security. If the prisoner is determined not to be lawfully admitted to the United States the commissioner of the department of corrections, the county sheriff, the municipal police chief or any other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security. The secretary of the executive office of public safety shall prepare and issue guidelines and procedures used to comply with the provisions of this paragraph.

SECTION XX. Section 24B of chapter 90 of the general laws is hereby amended by adding, after the first paragraph, the following:—

Whoever falsely makes, steals, alters, forges or counterfeits a learner’s permit, a license to operate motor vehicles or an identification card issued under section 8E with the intent to distribute such learner’s permit, license to operate motor vehicles or identification card or assists another to do so shall be punished as follows: (i) for the above acts involving 1 to 5 documents, by a fine of not more than $2,500 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or in a house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years, or both such fine and imprisonment; (ii) for acts involving 5 to 10 documents, by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 7 years or in a house of correction for not more than 8 years, or both such fine and imprisonment; (iii) for acts involving more than 10 documents, by a fine of not more than $25,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 15 years or for not more than 10 years in a house of correction, or both such fine and imprisonment.”