Work & Family Mobility Act
Full title:An Act relative to work and family mobility during and subsequent to the COVID-19 emergency (S.1557 / H.2418)
Lead Sponsors: Sen. Brendan Crighton; Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier & Rep. Christine Barber
Committee: Joint Committee on Transportation
Status: Passed the House on 2/16/2022
The Issue
During the COVID-19 crisis, immigrants have been on the front lines, making up a significant portion of the essential workforce keeping our economy — and our lives — going. But when it comes to policies to improve the lives of our immigrant communities, Massachusetts lags behind many neighboring states.
Here in Massachusetts, immigrants without status are unable to obtain a driver’s license. But that doesn’t change the everyday realities of needing to get to work, to school, or to a doctor’s office, which often require a car in this state.
Sixteen states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico already allow residents the right to apply for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, including our neighbors New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.
The Solution
This Work & Family Mobility Act would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license or identification card, regardless of immigrant status, while keeping our Commonwealth in full compliance with REAL ID requirements.
Highlights
The House version of the legislation strongly resembles language passed overwhelmingly by the legislature but vetoed by the Governor in the final days of the legislation session, but the Senate bill goes further.
The House bill does the following:
- Establishes a process to seal fault evictions 3 years after the eviction takes place, and to seal no-fault evictions immediately.
- Seals evictions when a judgement is satisfied (e.g., owed rent paid).
- Makes it illegal for a tenant screening company or landlord to use or report a sealed court record.
- Makes it illegal to name minors or others not responsible for the rent as a defendant in an eviction cases
The Senate bill includes these measures but presents a more comprehensive overhaul which:
- Seals all eviction cases as soon as they are filed and while they are pending, until an allegation is proven.
- Seals no-fault evictions and certain other cases, e.g., when tenants are seeking to get repairs made.
- Makes non-payment and fault eviction cases publicly available when there is a judgment against the tenant on the merits, or there is an agreement for judgment and the tenant has actually been evicted.
- Seals all eviction records after 3 years and provides a process to seal records for good cause before then
- Creates a process for parties to correct errors in eviction records.
Contact Your Legislators
Find your legislators’ contact information here.
I am reaching out today to urge you to support An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility (H.3456 & S.2289). This bill would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license or identification card, regardless of immigration status.
Many MA residents depend on a car to get to work, to school, to the hospital, etc. Immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a license.
Notably, the bill is a win-win-win all around. The bill would help make the roads safer for all, lower insurance rates, bring in more revenue for the state (through license fees), and strengthen our economy.
Immigrants have been on the front lines making up a significant portion of our essential workforce during the COVID crisis. It’s time that we show the recognition for their work and their importance in our community and become the 17th state to pass this basic reform.
- Mobility is a human right. That’s why it’s time to pass the Work & Family Mobility Act and eliminate immigration status as a barrier to obtaining a driver’s license.
- Many MA residents depend on a car to get to work, to school, to the hospital, etc. Immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a license.
- The Work & Family Mobility Act would make us all safer. If all drivers have passed the same test and know the same rules of the road, and are properly insured, we all benefit.
- The Work & Family Mobility Act would be good for state finances, as more appropriately insured and registered drivers means more money for the Commonwealth in license fees.
- The Work & Family Mobility Act could lower insurance rates: fewer uninsured motorists and more drivers in the insurance pool mean lower rates for everyone.
- An estimated 185,000 immigrants without status lived in Massachusetts as of 2016. They need to drive just like anyone else.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
During the COVID-19 crisis, immigrants have been on the front lines, making up a significant portion of the essential workforce keeping our economy — and our lives — going. But when it comes to policies to improve the lives of our immigrant communities, Massachusetts lags behind many neighboring states.
Here in Massachusetts, immigrants without status are unable to obtain a driver’s license. But that doesn’t change the everyday realities of needing to get to work, to school, or to a doctor’s office, which often require a car in this state. New York, Connecticut, and Vermont have already realized the absurdity of such a barrier and enabled individuals to obtain a driver’s license regardless of immigration status.
Legislation in the State House — An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility (H.3456 & S.2289) — would enable MA to join them, and the thirteen other states that have already passed such common-sense reforms. Notably, the bill is a win-win-win all around. The bill would help make the roads safer for all, lower insurance rates, bring in more revenue for the state (through license fees), and strengthen our economy.
We hear politicians talk a lot about supporting our essential workers. Well, it’s time that we show the recognition for their work and their importance in our community and become the 17th state to pass this basic reform.
Read More
- Ching, Monique. “7 Reasons to Support Licenses for Undocumented Drivers.” MassBudget. July 16, 2020. https://massbudget.org/2020/07/16/7-reasons-to-support-licenses-for-undocumented-drivers/.
- Ching, Monique. “Driver’s Licenses for Immigrants without Status – How Would It Affect Massachusetts?” MassBudget. March 17, 2020.https://www.massbudget.org/reports/pdf/DriversLic4briefs_FINAL.pdf.
- Ching, Monique. “Sharing the Road: Licensing All Drivers, Regardless of Immigration Status, Boosts Safety and the Economy.” MassBudget. September 3, 2019. https://massbudget.org/reports/pdf/DriversLic2019_FINAL.pdf.
- Editorial Board. “A Long Overdue Measure: Mass. Drivers without Lawful Status Should Get Driver’s Licenses.” Boston Globe. March 9, 2021. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/09/opinion/long-overdue-measure-mass-drivers-without-lawful-status-should-get-drivers-licenses/.
- Ludeders, Hans et al. “Providing Driver’s Licenses to Unauthorized Immigrants in California Improves Traffic Safety.” PNAS 114, no. 16 (2017): 4111-4116, https://www.pnas.org/content/114/16/4111.
- Misra, Tanvi. “Punishing Immigrants for Sprawl.” May 23, 2017. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-23/the-high-cost-of-car-culture-for-undocumented-immigrants.
- National Immigration Law Center. “Empirical Studies Support Issuance of Driver’s Licenses Without Regard to Immigration Status.” August 2017. https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/driver-license-research.pdf.
- Rodriguez, Nicole. “Licenses for Immigrant Drivers in Massachusetts.” MassBudget. September 15, 2015. https://massbudget.org/reports/pdf/Licenses%20for%20Immigrant%20Drivers%20in%20Massachusetts.pdf.
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