BUFFALO, N.Y. — According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, The Driver's License Access and Privacy Act, commonly called the Green Light Law, which was enacted on June 17, 2019, will take effect on December 16, 2019.
It allows all New Yorkers age 16 and older to apply for a standard, not for federal purpose, non-commercial driver license or learner permit regardless of their citizenship or lawful status in the United States.
“We’re gonna have to make decisions based on how we interpret the statute,” Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns said during a Friday news conference.
Kearns, who unsuccessfully brought suit in federal court in an attempt to get the law stricken, joined several county clerks from Western New York along with State Senator Robert Ortt (R- North Tonawanda) to state their opposition to the law and to publicly call on Gov. Cuomo to delay its implementation.
It also appears that someone’s ability to apply for a license under the Green Light Law may vary depending on where they seek to do it.
“I cannot, as an elected official, advocate for anybody to break the law,” said Ortt, who also said he understood the frustration expressed by the county clerks.
That frustration is mostly born in what they claim is their inability to follow the law, due to a lack of instruction and support from the state.
"We are wholly unprepared and ill-trained to issue these licenses to individuals in the country illegally," Genesee County Clerk Michael T. Cianfrini said.
He and other county clerks acknowledge that the state offered two 45-minute webinars about the new law.
“It raised more questions than it answered," Cianfrini said.
Kearns says phone calls to the DMV were of little assistance.
“We could not ask the (DMV) Commissioner any questions. It was a one way phone call and then, when we met with state representatives, we had to submit our questions," Kearns said.
Clerks in Allegany, Wyoming, and Genesee counties stated on Friday they would not issue licenses under the Green Light Law and would direct those applying to apply at a state-run DMV office instead.
"Until we get the training, we are not gonna be able to process any new applications for a driver's license," Cianfrini said.
However, in Niagara County, where County Clerk Joseph Jastrzemski was taking a similar stance as recently as Thursday, he now says they will attempt to process the applications, but only at the Lockport office, and only three days per week for two hours at a time.
“Lockport has my most seasoned staff,” noted Jastrzemski, who has a pending lawsuit against the state in his effort to have the law stricken.
“So what we're going to do is do the best that we can. We’ll go through that webinar again … go through the questions and answers, look through the forms and do as much as we can to possibly get our staff up and trained ... and see if we can’t help those applying in some way.
Jastrzemski says those seeking to apply for licenses under the Green Light Law should do so at the Lockport DMV office at 111 Main Street every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
He plans to have a dedicated window to serve customers presenting Green Light transactions.