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Have there been legal challenges or changes to AB 60 since 2015 and what were their outcomes?
Executive summary
California’s AB 60 (Safe and Responsible Driver Act) took effect January 2, 2015 and led to more than 600,000 licenses issued in its first year, and over a million by 2023, but available sources show surprisingly sparse reporting of major statewide court defeats overturning the law; commentators predicted litigation, and litigation-adjacent issues (privacy, federal limits) have arisen in guidance and analysis [1] [2] [3].
1. What AB 60 does and how many used it — the immediate rollout
AB 60 directed the California DMV to issue driver’s licenses to residents who meet licensing requirements even if they cannot prove federal legal presence; researchers note more than 600,000 AB 60 licenses were issued in the law’s first year and reporting by 2023 counts “more than a million” such licenses issued since 2015 [1] [3].
2. Litigation predictions vs. actual court records in the sources
Scholars and commentators predicted that AB 60 would spawn litigation and “swamping of courts with civil rights challenges,” but the sources assembled here report “to date, there have been no court cases concerning AB 60” in that commentary and do not provide citations of subsequent successful statewide legal challenges overturning the law [2]. In short: analysis warned of challenges, but the collection of sources provided does not document a court decision nullifying AB 60.
3. Implementation issues and administrative adjustments, not headline court battles
Coverage in the available sources focuses on implementation details, administrative guidance, and policy impacts—how DMV records are handled, how employers should treat AB 60 IDs for I-9 purposes, and whether AB 60 licenses are treated differently in databases—rather than major constitutional litigation overturning the statute [4] [5] [6]. For example, USCIS guidance clarified an AB 60 license may be used to establish identity on Form I-9 and that accepting such a license does not by itself establish knowledge of unauthorized work authorization status [5].
4. Privacy, enforcement and limits of the license — ongoing tensions
Even while AB 60 remains in effect, civil-rights organizations and legal guides warn applicants about trade-offs: DMV records can be accessed by law enforcement and by DHS when part of an investigation, and AB 60 licenses are marked differently in some accounts or treated specially in practice, producing concerns about exposure to federal immigration enforcement [4] [7] [8]. The ACLU materials tell applicants to weigh benefits against risks because DMV disclosure to federal agencies can occur if the agency is already seeking a person [4] [7].
5. Academic and policy assessments of impact, not litigation outcomes
Independent research has focused on safety and insurance impacts rather than court challenges. A peer‑reviewed study examined traffic-safety outcomes after AB 60 and documented the scale of licensing, and later reporting cites work finding AB 60 did not improve insurance premiums nor increase the share of uninsured drivers—highlighting policy debates over intended benefits more than legal reversal [1] [3].
6. Conflicting narratives in advocacy and private commentary
Advocacy groups (ACLU chapters, immigrant-rights organizations) emphasize protections and practical rights for license holders and urge reporting discrimination, whereas skeptics and some legal commentators have framed AB 60 as conferring a low-level legal status or creating identification that could be used by enforcement. Those competing framings are visible across practical “know your rights” guides, legal blog posts, and opinion pieces [8] [9] [2].
7. What the assembled sources do not show (limitations)
The documents and reports supplied do not detail any successful statewide constitutional challenge or final court ruling that invalidated AB 60; they also do not provide a comprehensive case list of all litigation filed since 2015. If you seek a definitive docket history, available sources do not mention specific lawsuits that succeeded in overturning the statute [2] [6].
8. Bottom line and how to follow up
Based on the materials here, AB 60 has endured as law since implementation in 2015, produced large numbers of licensees, prompted administrative guidance and advocacy attention, and ignited policy debate—but the sources assembled do not document a successful legal reversal of AB 60 [1] [3] [2]. For a complete, up-to-date litigation history, consult California court dockets and state Attorney General opinions or a law‑library search; those sources are not included in the set provided.