SB 1285: Driver’s licenses: disability identifier.

Existing law requires that each application for an original or a renewal of a drivers license contain certain information, including the applicants true full name, age, and gender. Existing law also requires the application for a drivers license or identification card to contain certain specified elements, including, among other things, whether the applicant has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and a space for an applicant to enroll in the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

This bill would require the application forms for a drivers license or identification card to contain a space for a person to voluntarily disclose that the applicant has a disability, as defined by the federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and that the disability interferes with the persons ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer. The bill would require the disclosed disability to be certified by a licensed health professional, as specified, on appropriate forms to be developed by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The bill would require the department to develop an appropriate disability identifier symbol to be placed on a drivers license or identification card that is discreet and represents all types of disabilities, as specified. The bill would provide that a person may choose to no longer have a disability identifier symbol placed on the persons drivers license or identification card and would prohibit the department from retaining any information related to the persons disability. The bill would require the department to issue a new drivers license or identification card without a disability identifier symbol upon request.

The bill would require the department to work with the Department of the California Highway Patrol and other relevant stakeholders to develop peace officer training on the voluntary disability identifier symbol, recognizing persons with disabilities, appropriate interactions with persons with disabilities, resources available to persons with disabilities and those interacting with persons with disabilities, and the requirements of the ADA. meaning of the voluntary disability identifier symbol. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to provide a report to the Legislature and relevant policy committees detailing the disability identifier symbol program and the percentage of persons issued a drivers license or identification card who requested a disability identifier symbol.

This bill would make the above provisions operative on January 1, 2027.