I'd like to see us refrain from spending public money on racist agendas. We've had no issue with immigrant drivers, and we don't need to waste money on this. OPPOSE this bill.
SB13
Senate · 2025 sessionRepublicanDied in SenateDriver's license restrictions for immigrants
AIInvalidates out-of-state driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants and prohibits the department of motor vehicles from issuing or renewing a license for a person with a pending asylum claim, regardless of employment authorization.
(New Title) invalidating out-of-state driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants and prohibiting driver's license issuance and renewal to individuals with pending asylum claims, regardless of a grant of temporary work authorization.
Status
Died — the House and Senate did not agree · June 12, 2025- ✓Introduced
- ✕Senate
- House
- Governor
- Law
Division of testimony
212 submissionsThe bill will limit the tourism/visitors from out of state who want to come to New Hampshire. It would also results in unfair arrest to those who are not aware of it when they visit as the states around us do not have such restrictions. Also most New Hampshire towns do not have a good public transportation for those immigrants to use when they want to visit family/friends.
Whether many individuals are willing to admit it, many of our critical jobs in this country are currently filled by hard-working undocumented imigrants who are paying taxes and abiding by our laws. Removing their ability to drive will only have a negative on these individuals, their employers, income tax revenues, our economy in general, and our law enforcement and judicial systems.
I am opposed to this bill for the following reasons: 1. The data does not support the need for this. What problem is Senator Gannon attempting to solve? If the safety of NH residents is the goal, there are many other bills he might sponsor that would support law enforcement. 2. Our law enforcement officers already have a challenging task, and we are grateful to them everyday for their service. This bill distracts them needlessly from the critical work they already do--of which there is a lot. 3. The bill targets just two states, whose residents are already obeying the laws of their states. In effect, the bill says to people from CT and DEL that NH does not respect their laws. Bills like this open the door to states' could impeding cross border trade and collaboration. In effect, this bill makes NH a place that is less welcoming to visitors--including tourists. 4. This bill confuses immigration status with the possession of a Real ID. This opens the door to abuse and mistaken citations. That costs NH residents their rights, their time, and their financial resources. This bill is bad for NH residents. and the 5. Finally--this bill is rooted in fear not reason; in fiction, not fact. No *good* bill can come from fear and fiction.
Please do not support this bill. It penalizes certain immigrants who need to provide for themselves as their immigration cases play out. Thank you.
I oppose SB 13 because it will add an additional burden to individuals who live and work in our state and while they may not yet have status of US Citizenship, they provide valuable services to our communities. Making them ineligible for driver's licenses also makes them uninsurable and that puts all of us at risk. SB13 is mean spirited and an attack on the principles under which our government was established. We are better than that!
I want to document my opposition to this bill, invalidating out-of-state driver’s licenses from some people solely based on immigration status, which has nothing to do with whether the person has passed their driving tests. If they are valid to drive in any state, then they should be valid to drive here in NH.
Sorry to be late with this testimony; I hope you will consider my input anyway. I would like you to vote HB 13 ITL. If other states choose to give immigrants driver's licenses, what business is it of New Hampshire's to invalidate that decision. People who move to rural states like NH need to be able to get to work and appointments the same as any other person. Let us not put barriers in the way of working, contributing to our economy, and becoming citizens for these people. Please vote against SB13.
This bill is unnecessary. SB13 undermines road safety by denying recognition of valid drivers licenses from other states. This bill will not prevent undocumented immigrants from driving; it will cause them to drive without a valid license or insurance. This harmful bill would misuse public funds to target immigrant drivers, creating a hostile and unwelcoming environment with far reaching impacts.
Does New Hampshire even have standing to invalidate out of state driver's licenses? How, in the course of a traffic stop, would an officer come to know someone is undocumented?
I urge you to oppose this bill. This bill is cruel and unnecessary, and has overall negative impacts on families and businesses in New Hampshire. As a NH taxpayer, I vehemently oppose misusing public funds to target immigrant drivers. Immigrants are overwhelmingly beneficial to our state and our country, contributing to our workforce and communities in valuable ways. Immigrants should retain their legally issued driver's licenses so they can continue to contribute. The overall targeting of immigrants, among other vulnerable populations in NH, is unconscionable and undemocratic. Do not bow to the fear-mongering by the federal administration. The rhetoric are just attempts to assume total power. Please preserve and honor our democratic ideals.
This bill will dramatically increase racial profiling, which in turn adds to deep mistrust of the police and makes our roads much less safe. It will also harm businesses, especially those near the border of the state. It's ot only immigrants that will stop visiting our states. This bill is deeply insulting to neighboring states by disrespecting drivers' licenses issued in their states, ending a long-time policy for mutual respect of licenses issued in each others' states.
This bill targets drivers with licenses from other jurisdictions, and will create a hostile climate in NH and a mess in the courts. Please vote no.
SB 13 is ridiculous. It will impact tourism as well as the workforce. How many contractors & restaurants in NH hire immigrant laborers? What is the purpose of this bill? What is this legislature trying to accomplish? What "problem" is this solving? This bill is beyond stupid. A waste of the legislature's time.
This harmful bill would misuse public funds to target immigrant drivers, creating a hostile and unwelcoming environment with far reaching impacts.
I strongly oppose this bill because it would deter visitors and tourism in our state. Tourism is a big part of New Hampshire's economy, people visiting and spending their money should not have to worry about being profiled or pulled over regarding their license from another state.
Why penalize people driving lawfully when they enter our state? They are licensed and should be allowed to come here to do business, to enjoy tourism, to travel.
Do not use public funds to target immigrants!
I am appalled that this bill is being considered. It would criminalize lawfully licensed drivers from other states or jurisdictions for simply driving in New Hampshire, And it would encourage profiling by local law enforcement, eroding the work of fair and impartial policing policies used by NH State Police. It seems destined discourage ANYONE who is not from this state from traveling here. What a misguided move to discourage, at the very least, the tourists, on which many NH businesses depend, from visiting.
This bill encourages profiling by law enforcement
The bill would criminalize lawfully licensed drivers if they operate a vehicle in our state. SB 13 goes further to encourage profiling by local law enforcement, eroding the work of fair and impartial policing policies put in place by State Police. SB 13 could have negative consequences on New Hampshire's economy by deterring visitors to our state.
This is a targeting bill aimed at making NH a dangerous and unwelcoming state. We have to find better ways of operating that are not pitting people against each other. Let’s work on some smart and effective legislation instead of these hateful, paranoid, ignorant bills. Oppose this bill.
If you follow the logic of this bill we will have people driving illegally if they can’t transfer their licenses. Like it or not we don’t have enough public transportation for people to get to work and they need to drive. Stop putting up hurdles for working people.
There is no need for this law, this would be a of misuse public funds to target immigrant drivers, creating a hostile and unwelcoming environment with far reaching impacts. Americans have had enough of the bullying of immigrants and new Americans.
Female