State Sen. Jack Murphy (R-GA) Sponsors Bill to End Multilingual Driver's Tests, Critics Say it's Anti-Immigrant

Georgia State Senator Jack Murphy sponsors bill to end multilingual driver's tests. Critics charge it is anti-immigrant and anti-economic development.

The Georgia legislature is taking aim at multilingual driver's tests. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, State Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) said there are 13 languages in which someone can test for their Georgia driver's license. He believes that a dozen too many.  He revised and got the Senate to approve a bill, SB67, that would make English the only language one can use to get a driver's license. That will certainly unnerve many non-English speaking residents of Georgia and it may even be called anti-immigrant.

From a safety-issue, I agree with the legislation. If you can't read the street signs, then how can you be expected to obey traffic laws? You would pose a great danger to other motorists and pedestrians too. The reality is I can't go to Greece or South Korea and get a driver's license because I don't speak the language of either country. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the naysayers of the bill are quick to point out that illiterate Georgians are still allowed to drive and are helped with the test.

Their overriding concern is that the bill is anti-immigrant and could stunt economic development in the state. They even have a name for it: the “Kia Go Home Bill,” named after the South Korean automaker that builds cars in Georgia with a sizable Korean work force.

“This bill would tell Kia that it is OK to invest a billion dollars here in Georgia, but your employees cannot drive here,” said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director for the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. “This is sending the wrong message and would make Georgia the only state in the country with a law like this. It is anti-immigration, anti-Latino and anti-economy development.”

SB 67 was actually a bill from the last legislative session that many thought was long dead. It passed the Senate and the House last year, but lawmakers failed to agree on language before the session ended. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

It should be noted that the bill only affects permanent residents and temporary license seekers are exempt. Here's where I have a problem with this bill. Murphy said the bill targets non-English-speaking people who can’t read traffic signs and emergency messages, but it doesn’t account for illiterate Georgians. So, they would be in the same boat as the non-English speaking immigrants. Sorry, Rep. Murphy, you can't have it both ways. You are, in essence, showing a bias towards people who speak another language. Still, I don't think this bill will have an effect on the state's economy.