Missouri House OKs English-only driver testing
After three days of debate, the Missouri House today voted to require that the state conduct driving tests only in English.
Each time the bill was brought to the floor, Republicans voted as a bloc to prevent any change in one of Speaker Steve Tilley’s priority bills. The bill was approved on a voice vote after a 106 to 52 vote to cut off debate.
It will need a final vote before it is sent to the Senate.
Republicans have stressed that they want to promote safety on the highways, while Democrats have accused them of blatant bigotry and insensitivity to the needs of refugees.
The bill would end the state’s practice of providing the written driving test in 12 languages, including English, and offering interpreters, with costs paid by the license applicant, to those who need them during the driving portion of the test. Tilley announced his support for the bill in his opening-day speech to the House.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, argued that while many signs have a universal meaning based on shape and color, more than 1,000 permanent and mobile message boards provide vital safety information in English.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has spent $25 million to $30 million on the signs, Nolte said. “MoDOT would not be making these kind of expenditures if they did not think the message was important.”
An amendment to allow non-English speakers to take the test in their native language once and learn English well enough to take the test again in five years was defeated.
“When Missouri broadcasts its bigotry so thoroughly on the floor of this House, it doesn’t do anything to attract jobs,” said Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis.
Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, sought to lecture Republicans about the practical impact of the bill. Kelly, a former associate circuit judge, said he saw “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of cases of people driving without licenses.
People with poor English skills will take a risk and drive to keep their job and invariably get into accidents without having insurance, he said. “I know it is fun to talk about this and it is good to talk jingoistic about foreigners, but how much of your constituents’ money are you willing to put on the table?”
Nolte is also basing his bill on a lawsuit in Oklahoma over whether a driving test should be given in Farsi, the language of Iran. During debate, it led to a moment of garbled geography.
Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, said “You spoke of a lawsuit in Oklahoma. What language was it?
“Farsi,” Nolte replied.
“Farsi? Is that a language that Farsinians speak?”
To many Republicans who support the bill, it is a justified implementation of the state constitution’s designation of English as the state’s official language.
“It is a privilege to drive on our streets,” Rep. Mark Parkinson, R-St. Charles, said. “It is a privilege, sir. Part of the privilege is to take the test in English.”
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Each time the bill was brought to the floor, Republicans voted as a bloc to prevent any change in one of Speaker Steve Tilley’s priority bills. The bill was approved on a voice vote after a 106 to 52 vote to cut off debate.
It will need a final vote before it is sent to the Senate.
Republicans have stressed that they want to promote safety on the highways, while Democrats have accused them of blatant bigotry and insensitivity to the needs of refugees.
The bill would end the state’s practice of providing the written driving test in 12 languages, including English, and offering interpreters, with costs paid by the license applicant, to those who need them during the driving portion of the test. Tilley announced his support for the bill in his opening-day speech to the House.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, argued that while many signs have a universal meaning based on shape and color, more than 1,000 permanent and mobile message boards provide vital safety information in English.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has spent $25 million to $30 million on the signs, Nolte said. “MoDOT would not be making these kind of expenditures if they did not think the message was important.”
An amendment to allow non-English speakers to take the test in their native language once and learn English well enough to take the test again in five years was defeated.
“When Missouri broadcasts its bigotry so thoroughly on the floor of this House, it doesn’t do anything to attract jobs,” said Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis.
Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, sought to lecture Republicans about the practical impact of the bill. Kelly, a former associate circuit judge, said he saw “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of cases of people driving without licenses.
People with poor English skills will take a risk and drive to keep their job and invariably get into accidents without having insurance, he said. “I know it is fun to talk about this and it is good to talk jingoistic about foreigners, but how much of your constituents’ money are you willing to put on the table?”
Nolte is also basing his bill on a lawsuit in Oklahoma over whether a driving test should be given in Farsi, the language of Iran. During debate, it led to a moment of garbled geography.
Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, said “You spoke of a lawsuit in Oklahoma. What language was it?
“Farsi,” Nolte replied.
“Farsi? Is that a language that Farsinians speak?”
To many Republicans who support the bill, it is a justified implementation of the state constitution’s designation of English as the state’s official language.
“It is a privilege to drive on our streets,” Rep. Mark Parkinson, R-St. Charles, said. “It is a privilege, sir. Part of the privilege is to take the test in English.”
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