CONSULAR IDENTIFICATION CARDS

Motion - In response to a growing concern over illegal activities occurring in certain hotels in the City, Council recently approved a new law requiring guests who rent a room for very short stays to produce identification. Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 41.49 requires that hotels obtain identification from walk-in guests, guests who are renting for less than 12 hours, and guests paying cash at check-in. The section defines an identification document as: "Identification document means a document that contains the name, date of birth, description, and picture of a person, issued by the federal government, the State of California or another state, or a county of municipal government subdivision or agency, or any of the foregoing, including, but not limited to, a motor vehicle operator's license, an identification card, or an identification card issued to a member of the Armed Forces. Identification document also includes a passport issued by a foreign government." The present definition in Section 41.49 does not appear to include consular identification (CIM) cards as acceptable. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, CID cards are issued by some governments to help identify their citizens residing in a foreign country. Although possession of a CID card does not certify legal residence within a country, CID cardholders in the United States may derive benefits from the cards' acceptance for identification purposes. For example, banks have begun accepting CID cards for opening bank accounts, some law enforcement agencies encourage their use for identification purposes, and some local governments accept them as acceptable identification to obtain government services. The use of consular identification cards is not new to the City. Section 19.1950 of the Municipal Code contains several criteria for the use of CID cards as acceptable forms of identification. A country's CID card must be filed with the City Clerk's Office, which in turn compiles the list of acceptable cards for all City departments. Additionally, the City Clerk is required to provide an annual review of their use by departments. Therefore, extending the use of consular identification cards for hotel guests would be consistent with other provisions of the Municipal Code. THEREFORE MOVE that Council request the City Attorney to amend Section 41.49 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to include consular identification cards by expanding the definition of "language document" to include the following: "Consular identification cards issued by another country to its citizens and nationals that have been approved by the City of Los Angeles as valid identification."