Verifying a person’s identity will be a hot agenda item in the General Assembly this week. Two bills defining acceptable government identity documents for driving and voting in North Carolina are scheduled for debate. The first would limit the documents that state and local law enforcement officers are allowed to accept. The second would require voters to present a photo ID before casting a ballot.

Acceptable ID cards

Rep. Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, cosponsored House Bill 33. It would direct law enforcement officers to only accept identification from the U.S. states, military identification, recognized passports, and immigration documents issued by the U.S. government.

Hager said the bill directly addresses a resolution passed recently in Durham County allowing local law enforcement officers to accept Mexican matricula consular IDs. The cards are issued by the Mexican consulate and can be provided to any Mexican national who produces a birth certificate and some other identifier; U.S. law enforcement agencies question the card’s reliability.

“If that is continued throughout North Carolina, our law enforcement officers would have to accept those IDs,” Hager said. “They would say we have to go by this data even if we know it’s not correct.”

Hager said accepting the matricula cards and other international documents complicates the process of identifying people. He also said his bill would make the use of international identification a factor raising red flags if someone is pulled over on a North Carolina highway is breaking the law. He said the idea for the bill came in part from the Rutherford County sheriff, who said deputies are pulling over more and more people trafficking drugs through the county driving north from Atlanta.

Photo IDs for voters

The first vote on a bill requiring voters to present a valid photo ID at polling sites could happen Wednesday. The bill has raised passions on both side of the issue. Opponents say it’s a return to racist limitations on voting that existed before the 15th and 26th amendments of the Constitution were ratified and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law. Supporters say failing to ensure the identity of any voter disenfranchises every voter, because no one can be confident of the integrity of elections.

The bill was introduced last week. Its first committee hearing consisted of two hours of public comment but no vote was taken. Along with requiring all voters have a photo ID, it also would provide free ID cards to those who otherwise cannot afford one.

MAJOR LEGISLATION:

• House Bill 399, Cap Motor Fuels Excise Tax, Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret

• House Bill 61, Speaker/Pro Tem Term Limits, Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford

• House Bill 87, Sunshine Amendment, Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir

• Senate Bill 353, Unborn Victims of Violence Act, Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke

• Senate Bill 362, Reallocate Lottery Funds, Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph

• Senate Bill 318, Repeal Plastic Bag Ban, Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover

KEY COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

A list of the regularly scheduled House Committee meetings can be found here.

• The House Health and Human Services Committee is meeting at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday. Members will be considering House Bill 115, North Carolina Health Benefit Exchange Act.

• The House Commerce and Job Development Subcommittee on Science and Technology is meeting Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Members will consider House Bill 44, Prohibit Mobile Phone Use/Hands-Free Only.

• The House Judiciary Subcommittee B is meeting Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Members will consider House Bill 149, Terrorism/State Offense.

Anthony Greco is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.