California Budget Allocates $55 Million for Driver License Data Sharing

The California budget signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom includes $55 million for the Department of Motor Vehicles to connect state driver license and identification records to a national data-sharing network. The system is intended to meet federal REAL ID requirements.

Officials have said that without participation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could refuse to accept state-issued IDs at airports.

The budget legislation authorizes the DMV to share records with the State-to-State Verification Service and SPEX database operated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The same measure directs the DMV to create a monitoring plan by July 2027 and requires the state auditor to review compliance starting in 2030.

Additional provisions allow the attorney general to sue the database operator or other states if terms are violated and require annual public reports on data requests.

Advocates have warned that the records, which include the last five digits of Social Security numbers or the placeholder "99999" for those without one, could be used for immigration enforcement. They said the oversight measures do not prevent court orders that could compel bulk disclosure.

One advocate stated the guardrails will not stop federal or other state law enforcement from obtaining an order requiring the system to retrieve and disclose data, including in bulk, and requiring the system not to disclose that fact. Another representative thanked lawmakers for the added protections but said more work is needed to safeguard information in the driver license database.