New Mass. License Law Could Mean a Flood of New Drivers, Fees:
If all 200,000 newly-eligible undocumented immigrants apply for a driver's license next fiscal year, their applications would far exceed the number of first-time license applications the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles issues every year.
On average, about 120,000 people in Massachusetts get a driver's license for the first time each year, according to the Department of Transportation.
Under the new law the state passed last year, which upheld by voters who shot down a repeal effort at the ballot box, Massachusetts residents without legal status will be eligible to apply for a license for the first time on July 1.
With a few months until this new group of people will become eligible all at once, the RMV is preparing for an influx of applicants.
The Registry anticipates hiring approximately 140 new workers and has already started that hiring process and planning for July, according to the RMV.
For some agencies, such as the MBTA, that are facing worker shortages and hiring struggles, the state is offering sign-on bonuses for new workers. But the RMV said it is currently not considering this tactic to fill the extra 140 positions.
The fiscal year 2023 state budget included about $9 million for initial start-up costs for the Registry and Gov. Maura Healey is recommending that $28 million be spent in fiscal year 2024 to implement the law. --->READ MORE HERE
Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Aliens to Cost Massachusetts Taxpayers $28M:
Providing thousands of eligible illegal aliens with driver’s licenses is set to cost Massachusetts taxpayers some $28 million, Gov. Maura Healey (D) reveals.
Last year, Massachusetts joined a swath of other states after voters approved a new law that will make driver’s licenses available to potentially 85,000 illegal aliens living across the state.
Everton Candido, a 19-year-old illegal alien, had become the face of the driver’s license law after he was arrested for allegedly killing 77-year-old Walter Wishoski Jr., a veteran of the Army National Guard who was born and raised in Malden, Massachusetts.
Candido, who was driving without a license, allegedly killed Wishoski in a fatal crash.
After previously estimating the new law would cost taxpayers less than $10 million to implement, Healey’s office now reveals that it is likely to cost close to $30 million.
“In support of this new law, H.1 adds $28 million in funding to expand service hours at select RMV locations … new applicants will pay the standard transaction fees at the Registry, bringing in additional revenue that will largely offset these implementation costs,” Healey’s office noted in a budget memo. --->READ MORE HERE
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