Sacramento, CA â Assembly Bill (AB) 363 by Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County) successfully passed the Assembly Committee on Veteran Affairs with a bipartisan and unanimous vote. The bill would waive the processing fee for homeless and low-income veterans who apply for a veteran designation on their California driverâs licenses and identification cards.
Current law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to offer a driver's license or identification card printed with the word "veteran" on it, indicating that the possessor is a military veteran. However, all veterans are currently charged a fee for this service, a cost that homeless veterans may not be able to afford. Assembly Bill 363 will waive the fee for low-income and homeless veterans that do not have the extra resources readily available to pay for the veteran designation.
âIdentification with a âVeteranâ designation will allow veterans to quickly and easily identify their status, without dealing with the impracticality of carrying around a DD-214; discharge papers and veterans separation documents.â
âUnfortunately for many of our veterans, it is as if they have not yet returned from battle. They need our help most of all. California has the largest veteran population in the country, and the largest percentage of homeless and low-income veterans in the nation. Assembly Bill 363 will provide this simple, yet important, fee waiver to make it easier for these veterans to access all available resources, benefits, and services that they have earned,â said Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva.
AB 363 will be heard next in Assembly Committee on Appropriations.