Office of the County Executive

Cheryl Dinolfo
County Executive

June 14, 2019

The Honorable Adam Bello

Monroe County Clerk
39 West Main Street, Suite 101
Rochester, NY 14614

Dear Clerk Bello:

I am writing to invite you to join me in Albany this coming Monday, June 17 to meet
with members of our State Senate Delegation and the Senate Leadership to advocate
against the passage of legislation that would provide Drivers Licenses to illegal
immigrants. As you know, the New York State Assembly already passed 3675-B, which
would force your office to issue New York State Drivers Licenses to those who are here
illegally. Given my longstanding opposition to this proposal, and your stated concerns
about this bill specifically, now is the time to put politics aside and work in a spirit of
bipartisanship to stop this misguided legislation from passing, before it is too late.

In 2007, when I served as Monroe County Clerk, I successfully rallied my fellow clerks
on both sides of the aisle to stand up to Albany and stop Governor Spitzer’s proposal to
give Drivers Licenses to illegal immigrants. This year, many county clerks have used
their platforms as elected leaders to voice their grave concerns regarding this bill.
Specifically, your fellow clerks have highlighted that this measure would put state law
at odds with federal law, would cost taxpayers millions, and could potentially lead to
illegal immigrants being improperly registered to vote, as Boards of Elections grapple
with handling the voter registration option on a Driver’s License application.

Although you have not yet advocated for or against this issue in Albany, or made your
position known to the New York State Association of County Clerks, you have expressed
some reservations about this proposal, saying recently: “When it comes to this particular
legislation, I have a number of concerns about it though. The problem that they're looking
for us to do now is for the State, and now it looks, appears, county clerk's offices to play
that role of the federal government and verifying documents, and verifying people's
identification and that's where I have a problem with the legislation.”

With a vote in the Senate likely coming next week, now is the time to make your voice
heard with lawmakers in Albany, before this bad bill becomes law. Therefore, even in
the midst of this campaign season, I invite you to join me in casting politics aside so we
can advocate together for our community’s best interests. This is the sort of leadership
our residents expect and deserve. Please let me know as soon as possible if you plan on
joining me in Albany on Monday.
Sincerely,

Cheryl Dinolfo
Monroe County Executive
110 County Office Building • 39 West Main Street • Rochester, New York 14614
(585) 753-1000 • fax: (585) 753-1014 • www.monroecounty.gov • e-mail: countyexecutive@monroecounty.gov