A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to encourage recognition of the matricula consular as official identification in north carolina and to appropriate funds to educate law enforcement agencies and public service agencies on the use of the matricula consular as identification.
Whereas, the Mexican Consulate issues identification cards to Mexican citizens who can prove that they have lived in the United States for at least six months, have a birth certificate, and can provide a photographic identification card such as a Mexican voter card or military identification; and
Whereas, the right of the Mexican Consulate to issue these identification cards, known as Matricula Consular, to its citizens abroad is guaranteed by the Vienna Convention of Consular Affairs; and
Whereas, since the September 11th tragedies, heightened security measures have created a particular need  for undocumented immigrants to possess a valid form of identification, and the Mexican Consulate reports that demand for identification cards has increased significantly since September; and
Whereas, the Matricula Consular contains several antifraud features, including a numbering system, lamination, embossed lettering, and a database of all issued cards, and the Mexican Consulate will begin issuing digitized cards in the summer of 2002; and
Whereas, acknowledgment of the Matricula Consular would decrease the processing times of law enforcement agencies when it is necessary to detain cardholders for minor infractions, thereby saving the police valuable time and saving confinement costs; and
Whereas, acceptance of the Matricula Consular also has the potential to promote improved communication between Mexican immigrants and law enforcement and to facilitate the reporting of crimes that might otherwise go unreported; and
Whereas, use of the Matricula Consular for identification would facilitate access to some local services such as libraries and other life enrichment programs; and
Whereas, the Matricula Consular card is only used for identification purposes and does not establish any type of legal status in this country, nor does it enable users to obtain government entitlements such as welfare benefits, which nonresident immigrants are not entitled to; and
Whereas, resolutions urging law enforcement agencies and public services agencies to accept Matricula Consular as official identification have been adopted across the United States, including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and Austin, as well as police departments in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota; and
Whereas, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank, First National Bank, Suntrust Bank Inc., and other financial institutions across the United States have begun accepting the Matricula Consular as identification, and in this State the Department of Motor Vehicles already recognizes it as an acceptable form of identification; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The General Assembly encourages law enforcement agencies and public service agencies in North Carolina to officially acknowledge the Matricula Consular as a form of identification in this State.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year to provide education to law enforcement agencies and public service agencies across North Carolina on the benefits of using the Matricula Consular as identification in this State.
SECTION 3.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2002. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.