Assemblyman Joe Giglio (R,I,C-Gowanda) today called for immediate passage of a bill to protect county clerks who refuse to implement Governor Eliot Spitzer’s policy to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

The Assembly Minority measure, the “County Clerk Protection Act,” would defend and indemnify county clerks who uphold their sworn oath to preserve and protect the Constitution by refusing to implement the governor’s proposal.

“Twenty-nine of 33 county clerks voted against the governor’s illegal policy,” said Giglio. “We must take a stand against the governor’s proposal, which is not only against the law, but a threat to the security of this nation and state.”

Giglio indicated that under Section 502, subsection 1, of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the governor and the commissioner of DMV would be in direct violation of state law requiring a Social Security number be provided to obtain a driver’s license if their proposal was enacted.

“The governor is forcing county clerks to break the law, and, if they don’t, he has already threatened to sue,” said Giglio.

Current law states that if a county clerk is brought up on charges, it then falls to the taxpayers in that particular county to pay costs associated with the legal action. Giglio said the new legislation should also prevent the governor from removing county clerks from office who refuse to enact his proposal.