Assembly Bill 20 might sound innocent enough – just another DMV regulation – but it’s actually a significant expansion of government power into our private medical lives.
What’s Currently In Place
Let me break this down simply. Right now in Nevada, if you have a medical condition, you can choose to have a single, universal medical alert symbol on your driver’s license or state ID.
That’s it – just one generic symbol that tells first responders they might need to check for medical issues. Nothing more specific, nothing stored in a database. It’s voluntary and private.
What AB20 Would Change
Here’s where things get worrying. This bill would authorize the DMV to create specific codes for a whole list of medical conditions, including:
- Mental illnesses
- Depression
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Food allergies
- Schizophrenia
- Hemophilia
- And many more
But it gets worse. The DMV would maintain a database of these conditions, linked to your driver’s license records, which would be accessible to law enforcement agencies.
They’d even use standardized medical coding from the International Classification of Diseases system – the same detailed coding system used by hospitals and insurance companies.
Why This Matters to Conservatives
This bill represents everything conservatives fight against: big government, invasion of privacy, and unnecessary bureaucratic expansion. Here’s why:
- Medical Privacy Violations: Your health conditions should be between you, your doctor, and whoever you choose to tell – not stored in a government database accessible by various agencies.
- Mission Creep: The DMV’s job is to handle vehicle registration and driver licensing. Why are they expanding into medical record keeping? This is a classic example of bureaucratic mission creep.
- Cost to Taxpayers: Someone’s going to have to pay for developing this coding system, maintaining the database, and training staff. Guess who? The taxpayers.
- Potential for Abuse: Once this information is in a government database, it could be used for purposes we never intended – like screening drivers for certain conditions or sharing with other agencies.
Cost to Implement
The bill curiously notes there would be “no fiscal effect” on state or local government. This seems unlikely given the need for new database systems, updated ID card designs, staff training, and public education about the program.
The DMV would need significant resources to implement such a complex medical coding system.
What Critics and Experts Are Saying
Emergency medical professionals point out they’re already trained to perform thorough patient assessments regardless of what’s on an ID card. Standard emergency medical protocols require complete patient evaluations in crisis situations.
Civil liberties advocates warn this could lead to discrimination. Medical privacy experts emphasize that sharing sensitive health information through government IDs creates unnecessary risks.
Kat Sienk, a co-director of Stand For Health Freedom Nevada says:
“We have serious concerns about the implications of this bill. While it’s framed as optional for Nevadans to request medical codes on their driver’s licenses, it’s not hard to foresee a future where such a measure could become mandatory.”
Future Implications
Think about where this leads. If we accept medical condition coding on driver’s licenses, what’s next?
Will they want to add genetic information? Mental health history? Prescription drug use? Every small expansion of government power sets a precedent for more intrusion.
What’s Next for the Bill
The first hearing on AB20 is scheduled for February 13th at 1:30 PM in the Committee on Government Affairs.
The bill was prefiled on November 7, 2024, by the Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The bottom line? This bill is a solution in search of a problem.
First responders already have protocols for handling medical emergencies. People who want to share their medical conditions can use medical alert jewelry or carry cards in their wallets. We don’t need the DMV to create a new medical database and coding system.
Let’s keep the government focused on its core functions and out of our personal medical business. After all, isn’t that what limited government is all about?
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
