Lawmakers Choose Politics over People, Vote Again to Defund Driver’s License Law

January 23, 2015
DENVER – Members of the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado legislature voted today for the second time this week to block funding for implementation of the Colorado Road and Safety Act.  Based on these votes, the Department of Revenue will not be allowed to access thousands of dollars in fees that have been collected through the law, which allows immigrant Coloradans to access driver’s licenses.

Statement of ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes:

“The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado is deeply disappointed by the vote of the Joint Budget Committee to essentially defund SB-251, a law passed in 2013 by the full legislature that allows immigrant Coloradans to access driver’s licenses.
“This vote was not about protecting taxpayer dollars. The funds at issue are fees that were fully generated by the driver’s license program.  The members of the committee who blocked those funds chose politics over people, and in doing so, voted to make our roads and our communities less safe.
“We strongly encourage those lawmakers to reconsider and to allow the Department of Revenue to spend the funds it collected, just as the legislature intended when it passed the law.  Rather than playing politics, lawmakers should be working to expand access to this program, which has the potential to benefit thousands of men, women, and families.”