A group of Democratic lawmakers seeking to criminalize scams that prey on immigrants seeking a driver’s license under Colorado’s .
The legislation comes amid growing political anger over aiming to swindle those desperate to get a coveted appointment to apply for a license.
Activist groups report some seeking the special licenses have paid as much as hundreds of dollars to illegitimate services claiming to be able to move them up in line.
Months-long wait times . And based on the estimated number of people in the state who are eligible for the licenses, which are for those living in the country illegally, and the dearth of slots to apply, the holdup can stretch out years.
The licenses are available by appointment only. And only three offices handle the licenses. They offer roughly 90 slots a day. There could be as many as 150,000 in Colorado who are living in the country illegally and eligible to apply, according to estimates by immigrant advocates.
“This situation has allowed rip-off artists to take advantage of people frustrated with the inability to get an appointment,” Sen. Pat Steadman, a Denver Democrat who is one of the bill’s lead sponsors, said in a statement.
The legislation, introduced in Colorado’s House, aims to make it a misdemeanor offense to falsely purport to sell access to appointments for government services.
It also makes doing so an unfair trade practice, allowing enforcement by the Colorado Attorney General’s office and potential financial awards against violators, Steadman said.
Rep. Dan Pabon, of Denver, and Rep. Jovan Melton, of Aurora, are heading up Democratic sponsorship of the legislation in the House.
The Colorado Department of Revenue and state prosecutors and encouraging victims to come forward.
The bill comes as Democrats try this session to fix the long-hobbled initiative, which since its inception has been drastically underfunded. Last month, lawmakers to as many as 30 driver’s license offices.
Republicans have denounced the program and worked to decrease its breadth. The GOP has questions about its public safety impact, which was an initial selling point.
Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, on Monday that the program is “sort of a back-door amnesty” and questioned if it should have been implemented to begin with.
“It brings me back to a phrase I’ve heard so many times: ‘What part of illegal do you not understand?’ ” he told the station.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
