Denver, CO — Today, the “More Colorado Road And Community Safety Act” (SB19-139) goes into effect in Colorado. The legislation expands access to standard driver’s licenses to Coloradans – regardless of immigration status – by increasing the number of licensing facilities. FWD.us Colorado State Immigration Manager Marissa Molina released the following statement:

“Today, Colorado is taking an important step toward improving the safety and security of all of its residents with implementation of the More Colorado Road and Community Safety Act. Starting today, undocumented Colorodans will be able to obtain standard driver’s licenses at 9 DMV locations across the state, enabling them to legally drive and purchase car insurance. Two more offices will offer this service this summer.

“Expanding access to driver’s licenses will make life better for countless hardworking Colorado families, grow our economy, and make our state stronger in every way. This is a testament to the tireless, years-long work of Colorado’s immigrant advocacy community, and we are proud to have partnered with them through the I-Drive Coalition to create more opportunity for Colorado families.

“We also thank the Polis administration and our legislative sponsors for their leadership in helping to pass this bill. Because of their efforts, Colorado is helping to ensure that more families and individuals – particularly those living in rural areas – can access their workplaces safely and more easily, and take their kids to school. FWD.us will continue to fight for meaningful reforms that protect families and create a more prosperous future for all Colorodans.”

Background
In 2013, Colorado lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation allowing all Colorodans – regardless of immigration status – to obtain standard driver’s licenses. From the onset, the program has been backlogged given the limited number of DMVs that were authorized to issue SB-251 drivers licenses. At a Senate Finance Committee hearing in February 2019, several community members testified that the wait for an appointment can take several months. The hours-long drive to these DMVs forces Coloradans to incur additional costs and miss work especially for Coloradans living in rural communities, according to KUNC.

In May 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law the “More Colorado Road And Community Safety Act,” which allows 10 or more geographically distributed DMVs across the state to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented Colorodans. The fees for the driver’s licenses will pay for implementation of the program. The I-Drive Coalition, in partnership with FWD.us, led advocacy efforts for expanded access to licenses, which will help create a more prosperous future for all Colorodans. The common-sense initiative was also supported by farming, dairy and other business groups.

More information on license requirements and DMV locations offering this service is available here.