REPEAL OF SB 60 ENDS VOTER REFERENDUM INITIATIVE…FOR NOW
One of the driving forces behind the California legislature’s about-face on granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens was the threat of a voter referendum on the March 2004 ballot, which organizers claim had gathered far more than the 373,816 signatures needed. While SB 60 is dead for now, its author, Sen. Gil Cedillo, promises to revive it with some cosmetic changes next year. While acknowledging that the voters’ “concerns have been heard,” Cedillo is adamant that the new version of the bill will not contain any requirements that license applicants even be in the process of applying for legal residence. While clearly pleased that SB 60 has been overwhelmingly overturned, FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman warned that voters will not be fooled by a repackaged version of the same bill. “People have been known to go over the heads of their elected officials here in California,” he said.