City council to vote on municipal ID card program
on November 8, 2010
Oakland City Council members will vote Tuesday whether to implement a Municipal Identification Card program that would provide valid identification to Oakland residents.
The program, which is modeled off of San Francisco’s City ID Card program, will offer identification cards to residents who would not otherwise be able to get a state or federal form of identification, including undocumented immigrants.
In addition to offering identification, the program will also allow cardholders to open bank accounts and establish credit. This particular feature has stirred debate among some residents who think monitoring the financial aspect of the program may be difficult.
The idea for the program was initially introduced in 2008. In October, staff members at the city clerk’s office recommended the program be run by an outside agency with no city involvement.
The council will meet at City Hall on Tuesday at 9pm. Council meetings are open to the public. For more information, please visit the City of Oakland’s website.
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