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The Selective Service System has returned to the California State
Legislature for the third year in a row with a proposal to link
Selective Service registration with California driver's license
applications. SB 1276 would automatically register California
males between ages 18 and 26 and have a disproportionate impact
on low-income youths and immigrants.
This bill is part of a national campaign to coerce young men
into registering for a possible future draft. According to Selective
Service, as of February 5, 2002, thirteen states, one territory,
and the District of Columbia had enacted draft registration/driver's
license laws. Two previous attempts to enact such laws in California
have failed.
SB 1276 has been referred to the Senate Governmental Operations
Committee and Transportation Committee. Hearings may be scheduled
during the 2nd week of March. To make sure your letter is included
in the official hearing record, it should be mailed no later than
February 28 or faxed no later than March 4. Write/fax to:
Senate Governmental Operations Committee
State Capitol, Room 2193
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-1193; Fax: (916) 445-5258
Senate Transportation Committee
State Capitol, Room 2209
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-3182 Fax: (916) 445-2209
Send a copy to your state senator, especially if he or she is
a member of one of the committees (see list below) at: State Capitol,
Sacramento, CA 95814. Ask TEN people to join you in sending letters.
If you need more information about hearings and deadlines, contact
one of the groups at the bottom of this alert for the current
status of SB 1276.
Some suggested points to make (these are just to get you started;
personal and original arguments are the most persuasive):
- Failure to register is a federal offense that is already addressed
by a mechanism for determining guilt and punishment under federal
law.
- This bill is aimed primarily at low-income people and immigrants:
Selective Service spokesperson Lewis Brodsky told AP in 1999
that "we suspect, based on the demographics we've seen,
that it's high school dropouts and immigrants" who are
not registering.
- While SB 1276 may increase the number of low-income people
and immigrants who are registered, it will also increase the
number of these individuals who drive without a license, which
would not be helpful to the state.
- The language of SB 1276 does not guarantee that the federal
government will reimburse California for the cost of implementation.
Motorist fees and taxes are mandated by the Constitution to
support motorist and transportation-related programs. SB 1276
would provide no benefit to motorists or traffic safety and,
therefore, should not be funded by motorists.
- This bill requires the state to assist a federal agency that
has failed to demonstrate its value and has been under bipartisan
attack in Congress. In 1999, Republican members of the California
House delegation joined Democrats to sponsor a bill in the 106th
Congress to abolish Selective Service, and legislation to de-fund
the agency passed the House (the Senate did not concur). Another
bill to abolish Selective Service has been introduced in the
current congress.
- The Selective Service System already has easy access to young
men through its taxpayer-funded media, Internet and high-school
campus registration campaigns.
- The purpose of Selective Service registration is to identify
people for a possible military draft. Selective Service refuses
to allow conscientious objectors to indicate their beliefs through
the registration process, and the Pentagon continues to discriminate
against people based on sexual orientation. With this proposed
law, therefore, California would be supporting a violation of
conscience and the military's antigay policies.
All numbers are for capitol offices in area code (916); the second
number is a fax number.
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE
Senator Edward Vincent (Chair), Inglewood, 445-2104, 445-3712
Senator Ross Johnson (Vice Chair), Irvine, 445-4961
Senator James Brulte, Rancho Cucamonga, 445-3688, 327-2272
Senator Wesley Chesbro, Eureka, 445-3375, 323-6958
Senator Joseph Dunn, Garden Grove, 445-5831, 323-2323
Senator Maurice Johannessen, Redding, 445-3353, 445-7750
Senator Betty Karnette, Long Beach, 445-6447, 327-9113
Senator Wm. J. 'Pete' Knight, Palmdale, 445-6637
Senator Michael Machado, Sacramento, 445-2407, 323-2304
Senator Bill Morrow, San Juan Capistrano, 445-3731
Senator Jack O'Connell, Santa Barbara, 445-5405, 322-3304
Senator Don Perata, Oakland, 445-6577, 327-1997
Senator Nell Soto, Ontario, 445-6868
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE:
Senator Kevin Murray (Chair), Culver City, 445-8800, 445-8899
Senator Tom McClintock (Vice Chair), Thousand Oaks, 445-8873,
324-7544
Senator James Brulte, Rancho Cucamonga, 445-3688, 327-2272
Senator Jim Costa, Bakersfield, 445-4641, 327-5989
Senator Joseph Dunn, Garden Grove, 445-5831, 323-2323
Senator Liz Figueroa, Fremont, 445-6671, 327-2433
Senator Betty Karnette, Long Beach, 445-6447, 327-9113
Senator Dick Monteith, Modesto, 445-1392
Senator Bill Morrow, San Juan Capistrano, 445-3731
Senator Don Perata, Oakland, 445-6577, 327-1997
Senator Gloria Romero, Monterey Park, 445-1418, 445-0485
Senator Jack Scott, Pasadena, 445-5976, 324-7543
Senator Nell Soto, Ontario, 445-6868
Senator Jackie Speier, San Mateo, 445-0503, 327-2186
Senator Tom Torlakson, Walnut Creek, 445-6083, 445-2527
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SB 1276 (Introduced on 1/16/02 by Sen.
Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, co-authors: Senators Alpert, Costa,
Figueroa, McPherson, Monteith, Oller, Polanco, and Poochigian)
- Would change the Vehicle Code to state that all male citizens
or immigrants who apply for an original driver's license or
identification card who are under the age of 26 shall be registered
in compliance with the requirements of the federal Military
Selective Service Act.
- Declares that the submission of an application for a driver's
license or identification card is a conclusive presumption that
the applicant either is registered with the Selective Service
System or is authorizing the department to forward to the Selective
Service System the necessary information for that registration
at the time that person is required to register under the Selective
Service Act (i.e., at age 18).
- Requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to include
on the application a notice to the applicant that his submission
of the application serves as consent to registration with the
Selective Service System.
- Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to forward to the
Selective Service System the personal information of male applicants
for an original driver's license or identification card who
are required to be registered.
The bill's text can be found at:
http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1276&sess=CUR&house=B&site=sen
For more information and updates, contact: Committee
Opposed to Militarism and the Draft, 619-265-1369, or the
Friends Committee on Legislation
of California, 916-443-3734.
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