Real ID Program - States vs Federal

Update 8/17/07:
At this time, more than half the nation's legislatures have passed symbolic legislation denouncing the plan, and some have penned bills expressly forbidding compliance. The governors of Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington are refusing to comply. Six others have passed bills and/or resolutions expressing opposition, and 15 have similar bills pending.

New Hampshire called the Real ID "contrary and repugnant" to the state and federal constitutions. A Colorado House resolution dismissed Real ID by expressing support for the war on terror but "not at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of citizens of this country."

Only four states have passed bills or resolutions expressing approval for the program, and 13 states have similar legislation pending of which some have it both applauding and opposing Real ID.

A Real ID-verified card would be mandatory for all "federal purposes," which include boarding an airplane or walking into a federal building, nuclear facility or national park. Citizens in states that do not comply with the new rules would have to use passports for federal purposes.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff alleges that there are presently 8,000 types of identification accepted to enter the United States.

8,000? We can certainly cut down the use of non-photo id's and birth certificates.

If the Real ID provision does not get repealed, all states would be required to issue new federal licenses, lasting no longer than 8 years, by May 11, 2008. So all 245 million license and state ID holders must visit their local DMV agency and apply for a Real ID by 2013. Applicants need to bring a photo ID, birth certificate, proof of SSN, proof of residence, and states have to maintain and protect massive databases housing the information.

States are against it because it is an unfunded mandate expected to cost over $11 billion over 5 years. It is also a threat to privacy and also a major target for identity hackers. Some states believe it violates the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution does not expressly let the federal government issue driver's licenses, so that power, they maintain, should be reserved for the states.

A honest debate must be carried out on this national identifications scheme. It was not discussed or debated in a timely manner. It was attached as a "rider" to a 2005 emergency military spending and tsunami relief bill. Republicans, who were in power at the time, knew it would not survive as a standalone bill, and decided to add it to the relief bill.

CNN.com - Federal ID plan raises privacy concerns

Boston.com - A real bad ID law

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Both conservative and liberal groups applauded the failure of an amendment offered to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would have authorized $300 million of federal funding for states to implement the Real ID driver's license program, which has been estimated by DHS to cost $23.1 billion.

The amendment was killed when a motion to table it passed 49 to 45, after both the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), spoke against the funding proposal. This means that there will be no federal funds to implement Real ID.

Quick background. The Real ID Act of 2005 basically creates a national identification card. Supporters believe such a measure would enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants. National ID cards have been in use in many countries including most European countries, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The United States as well as the United Kingdom are currently debating the merits of adopting such a card.

Opponents believe it would place another burden of identification on the populace. It is a law imposing federal technological standards and verification procedures on state driver's licenses and identification cards, many of which are beyond the current capacity of the federal government. State DMV workers would also be state immigration officials, as they must verify the citizenship status of all those who want a Real ID-approved state driver's license or identification card.

Why there was no debate before? Well you have to thank Congress for that. The Real ID Act was appended to a bill providing tsunami relief and military appropriations, so it passed with little debate and no hearings. People start to find out when the DHS issued draft regulations for the Real ID in March 2007. The legislation called for state compliance by May 2008.

When it was first envisioned, it was supposed to cost $100 million. Instead, it estimated to cost more than $11 billion over 5 years according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Only $40 million was allocated for 2006. Of course, DHS gave a worse estimate of $23.1 billion over 10 years.

There has been calls to repeal the Real ID Act. Seventeen state legislatures have passed laws rejecting the program. Seven of those states passed binding legislation refusing to implement it. The 17 states are Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Nebraska, South Carolina, Georgia, and Hawaii.

Anti-Real ID legislation has been introduced in Alaska, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Anti-Real ID legislation has made partial progress (passing one chamber) in Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Vermont.

Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, and California have no legislation pending.

The DHS is not quite happy with the states that have passed noncompliance legislation against the Real ID program. "I think residents of states that choose not to comply are going to be displeased with their leadership's decision when we get closer to full implementation," a DHS spokesman said. "They'll no longer be able do certain things that carriers of state-issued drivers licenses take for granted today."

He noted that residents of states whose identification cards don't comply with the law will be prohibited from entry to airports and federal buildings. It could also block access to "certain critical infrastructure sites" such as a power plants or dams, he said.

Final DHS regulations are expected around Labor Day. Initial compliance is May 2008, with full compliance by 2013.

Electronic Privacy Information Center - National ID Cards and Real ID Act

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Why do we need another level of bureaucratic nonsense? States would be forced to federally standardize their driver's licenses, restructure their computer databases, and create an extensive new document storage system. Real ID will become an "internal passport."

Instead of 50 different types of systems for terrorists, hackers, and troublemakers to hack into, there will be only one system. Oh boy, I cannot wait to hear when the Real ID database gets hacked and everyone's information is now in the hands of the enemy.