In the dark: RMV records restricted with immigrant driver’s license lawHerald denied Mayor Wu and city councilors’ driving records
By Chris Van Buskirk
PUBLISHED: September 18, 2023 at 5:34 a.m. | UPDATED: September 18, 2023 at 10:46 a.m.
The state department of transportation will no longer release driving records to the public after the implementation of an immigrant driver’s license law this summer, which has given the agency cover to deny records requests for the documents.
The records were considered public and easily accessible from MassDOT before July 1, the start date of the driver’s license law, which provides a pathway to legal driving for immigrants who can provide some form of documentation.
But language included in the law bars the state from releasing any information related to a Massachusetts license holder. The statute says the information shall “neither be a public record nor disclosed by the registrar, except as authorized by regulations promulgated by the attorney general.”
The Herald requested on Aug. 21 all city councilors’ and Mayor Michelle Wu’s driving records to test whether the documents remained publicly accessible under the new law. In a letter Thursday, MassDOT Records Access Officer William Doyle denied the request, citing the state’s statutory exemption to the records law. ...
Boston Herald
