This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The House on Wednesday gave final passage to a bill to require undocumented immigrants to pay more for Utah "driving privilege" cards and face more robust background checks.
The House passed SB184 on a 69-1 vote, and sent it to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature.
Its sponsor, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said earlier that Utah had been conducting background checks for applicants that covered records in only nine Western states. However, he said, one applicant had murdered two police officers out of state, and that was not initially discovered.
The bill now will conduct a national FBI background check for applicants. "That way we're not hiding criminals here," said Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, House sponsor of the bill.
That change will raise the annual fee for driving privilege cards from $80 to $109.50.
Utah issued 35,232 driving-privilege cards in 2014. The numbers show a continuing decline from a peak of about 43,000 in 2008 when the recession hit full force and immigration slowed.
— Lee Davidson