New state drivers licenses are soon going to be required of all US citizens born after December 1, 1964. The Department of Homeland Security is seeking compliance to the Act signed into law in 2005, which will weave together drivers licenses and state ID cards into a federal database. While there is baseline criteria of what the ID's must contain on them, each state will get to choose the specific data that it will print. These cards would be required for anything that is considered federal jurisdiction, such as boarding a plane, going into a federal building, and even being in a national park.
The new deadlines being put on states are causing quite a pinch, not only with time restrictions, but monetarily as well. These new policies will be quite expensive, and will cost millions of dollars. Not only will most states require new equipment to produce the licenses, but new security measures and precautions must be taken. Most states do not have the funds readily available for this type of change, so the remainder could fall to the taxpayer. In some instances it could push the price of the new ID's over $100 in some states. The system is supposed to be in place by May of 2008, unless states are given an extension, with license holders required to get their new ID by 2013. People applying for the new ID (whether you have an old one or not) would be required to bring even more information to prove your status as a citizen. You would now be required to bring a photo ID, birth certificate, proof of a Social Security number, and proof of residence.
Though states supposedly have the choice to comply with the law, the federal government has put measures into place to make it difficult on states citizens whose governments don't participate. One of these new measures would be that passports would be required to board a plane or enter a national park if you do not have a Real ID. Another measure is simply a threat to the state itself, the government states that if another terrorist attack were to take place by a person from a state that does not require a Real ID, then the blame would fall to the state and would be held accountable. Seems a bit of a stretch for accountability, especially since the biggest concerns by states are the cost and the privacy of its citizens. There are many that point out this would just be another way for the Government to keep tabs on us, and there are concerns about identity theft and access by everyone from the local gas station to toll booths.
Many states have already rejected the law requiring the Real ID, writing bills refusing compliance, citing lack of funding, civil rights, and privacy concerns as the reason. Other states have accepted the new law and are making steps to incorporate the updated system. Alas, some states have bills pending on this matter, while others are still waiting to make their final decisions. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is taking a hard lined approach with the matter, and is requiring states to file for an extension for compliance by May 2008 or risk losing their states citizens ability to board a domestic flight without a passport. The states that have filed legislation against the act thus far are: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington State.
For more on this issue, check out the following articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/16/real.id/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/11/real.id.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch
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