Administrators with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles help an inmate receive an identification card during a transitioning event at the Clark County Detention Center, Feb. 26, 2020.
Sunday, April 4, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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CARSON CITY — One the day of their release from a Nevada prison, inmates awake at 4 a.m. to prepare for their bus trip from a facility in Ely or Carson City to freedom.
By late morning, they’re not hard to spot near the Nevada Parole and Probation building in downtown Las Vegas, as some of them are still wearing prison garb and holding their few belongings in trash bags, Edward Bevilacqua, director of the reintegration program Novum-U, detailed to Nevada lawmakers.
But before they walk out of prison, many inmates with a desire to quickly reintegrate into society begin their path to redemption with an immediate disadvantage: not possessing proper identification to obtain a room to rent, open a bank account or get a job, Bevilacqua said.
Nevada Senate Bill 136 calls for the Department of Corrections to work with the Department of Motor Vehicles to hand out standard ID cards or driver’s licenses before prison sentences expire.
The law would apply only to Nevada residents who were previously logged into the DMV rolls, but have lost their ID card or had it expired while they were incarcerated. For inmates with a suspended driver’s licenses, the proposal calls for a state-issued ID card.
“The goal is just simple,” said Southern Nevada Republican state Sen. Carrie Buck, who introduced the legislation to the committee March 22. “It’s qualified inmates leaving prison with a valid Nevada ID.”
If passed and signed into law, the legislation would go into effect Jan. 1, 2022. The program could cost the DMV upwards on $800,000, according to the proposal.
The Department of Corrections currently issues prisoners “green-striped” IDs, which Buck described as a “useless prison ID that has less validity than a Costco card or YMCA membership,” because it doesn’t allow them to conduct official business, she added.
The law calls for the department of corrections to begin the process six months or more before an offender is expected to be released. Buck said it’s a small investment of time and effort that would make a significant difference for someone looking for a second chance.
“Having a legal ID is an essential first step in providing second chances,” Buck said. “Our current system is fraught with barriers that make it difficult to stay on the right path. We are setting people up to return to what they know and re-enter the system.”
Clark County Judge Nadia Krall, who supports the bill, told lawmakers she has seen plenty of released inmates immediately back in legal trouble after turning to the streets because they can’t find work. Without identification, of course, finding work is virtually impossible.
“When you have a job, you’re less likely to commit a crime,” she said. “You are legislators, you are the ones who create the law. I’m a judge, I am simply there to (fulfill) the law that you decide.”
Michael Hartman with the National Conference of State Legislators told lawmakers that 13 states have implemented similar ID programs through legislation. Also, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, and the public defenders offices in Clark and Washoe counties, testified in support of the bill.
Bevilacqua’s group works with prisoners over the initial four weeks of their release to help them get acclimated to society and find post-prison work. Having to wait for identification only complicates the process, he told lawmakers. But having identification already in their possession upon release changes the narratives. It would directly help with preventing the former inmate from returning to the prison system, he said.
