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The Washington
Times ANNAPOLIS -- House
Republicans who voted in favor of an amendment that would have stopped
illegal aliens from obtaining driver's licenses said yesterday that
they will hold the Democrats who voted against it accountable in the
next election. The amendment was
rejected on a 95-42 vote, almost along party lines yesterday. There
are 98 Democrats and 43 Republicans in the House. Four delegates did
not vote. "They flexed
their muscle today but at a great price," Delegate Herb McMillan,
Anne Arundel Republican and sponsor of the amendment, said of the Democrats.
Mr. McMillan tried to add the measure to a bill that deals with criminal
background checks for drivers licensed to operate trucks carrying hazardous
materials. Democratic leaders
argued that Mr. McMillan violated General Assembly rules, even though
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn M. Rowe told The Washington Times
on Tuesday that the bills could be linked. Bills can be joined
only if they deal with the same subject, according to General Assembly
rules. Still, House Majority
Leader Kumar P. Barve, Montgomery Democrat, disagreed with Miss Rowe's
opinion, which she also submitted in writing to the House. "This
amendment goes outside of what is historically and present-day practice,"
he said during a debate on the House floor that lasted more than 30
minutes. Mr. McMillan's
original driver's license bill was defeated last week in the Democrat-controlled
House Judiciary Committee. The amendment was a last-minute effort to
get the bill passed. Four Democrats
and four Republicans crossed party lines to vote on the amendment. Republican Delegates
Jeanne Haddaway, Adelaide C. Eckardt and D. Page Elmore of the Eastern
Shore, and W. Louis Hennessy of Charles County sided with the Democrats. Democratic Delegates
John P. Donoghue, Washington County; Kevin Kelly, Allegany County; Rosetta
C. Parker, Prince George's County; and Theodore J. "Ted" Sophocleus,
Anne Arundel County, voted with the Republicans. "I think that
was an issue of national security," Mr. Kelly said after the vote.
"It is incomprehensible to me that anyone believes aliens -- people
who are here illegally in this country -- should be provided Maryland
driver's licenses. This is a matter of national security." The driver's license
bill was the latest defeat for Republicans, who have been struggling
throughout the session with a Democrat-controlled General Assembly.
The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn April 12. Last month, legislators
killed bills submitted by Republican Delegates Pat McDonough, of Baltimore
County, and Rick Impallaria, of Harford County, including one that would
have allowed the incarceration of illegal aliens as soon as they are
identified as such. Mr. McDonough and
Mr. Impallaria have two pending bills that call for a study on how illegal
aliens affect the state's economy. Mr. McMillan said
he drafted the driver's license bill in response to a legal opinion
by State Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. that the state must issue
driver's licenses to immigrants even if they cannot "prove [their]
lawful presence." Mr. Curran's written
opinion follows the state's efforts to give illegal aliens more access
to driver's licenses. A task force has been appointed to study the issue
after an effort to give licenses to illegal aliens failed last year. Last year, Virginia
passed a similar law, which took effect in January, after learning that
some of the September 11 hijackers had gotten driver's licenses and
other identification in the state. Lawmakers repealed a law in December
that allowed illegal aliens to get driver's licenses. The
state joined Alabama, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and
Texas, which have restrictions on licenses to illegal aliens, according
to the Federation for American Immigration Reform's Web site. Copyright © 2004 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. |
