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SALT LAKE CITY — The same week that a federal judge in Texas put executive actions on hold impacting immigrants in the country illegally, a Utah lawmaker is proposing an increased fee for those immigrants to get driving privilege cards in the state.
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, is introducing a bill to require a higher fee on driving privilege cards that would help cover the cost of a "more robust background check" than the state currently requires.
"I know of no opposition to this, it's strengthening long-standing policy. This will be its 11th year," Bramble said before S.B. 184 was passed out of committee.
Currently, those applying for driving privilege cards in Utah undergo a background check that looks at a database of a handful of states. Bramble asserts that is not enough, pointing to a man arrested for murder in California who had been issued one of those cards in Utah.
"We would have caught the background had we done a more robust background check," Bramble said.
Changing from a western states-only check to the FBI background check would increase the cost associated with the card, from about $80 to $109.50. Bramble says the applicant would pay the cost, and the state would make no net revenue from it.
Bramble says Utah issued about 35,000 driving privilege cards last year, of which about 32,000 were renewals and about 2,000 were newly issued.
Contributing: Becky Bruce
