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PHOENIX — Arizona became the latest state Tuesday to refuse to go along with the federal government’s Real ID Act, a move the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said will have “real consequences” for state residents.
The legislation signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano makes it illegal for her or her agency employees to implement the 2005 federal law. That law requires states to adopt new procedures for issuing driver licenses as well as making the documents themselves more secure.
Backers of the legislation said their main fear is that the new licenses — and the linked databases that would be required — essentially will create a national ID card.
But Napolitano said her primary concern is that Congress, which imposed the mandate, has yet to cover the costs to the states.
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“My support of the Real ID Act is, and has always been, contingent upon adequate federal funding,” the governor said. “Absent that, the Real ID Act becomes just another unfunded federal mandate.”
Laura Keehner, press secretary to the Department of Homeland Security, acknowledged the money already being provided and in the pipeline will not be enough to cover the cost, estimated at an extra $8 for each driver license, a figure that ultimately comes out to about $3.9 billion nationwide. But she said the state and its residents will benefit in having a more secure document.
Keehner said if Arizona — and the 13 other states that have taken similar action — do not reverse course, it will be the residents who will suffer when the law takes effect as scheduled in 2010.
Potentially most sweeping, she said the law, beginning as early as 2010, will forbid people from boarding commercial airlines without identification recognized by her agency.
Keehner said a passport still would qualify, as would a military identification card. But she said those who lack either one would no longer be able to use their state driver’s license and essentially would no longer be traveling by air.
The same rules will apply for anyone who wants to enter a federal building.
But gubernatorial press aide Jeanine L’Ecuyer said she doubts that any Arizonan ever will be affected by Napolitano’s decision.
“Real ID, for all practical purposes, is dead in the water,” she said.
L’Ecuyer said the November election will result in a new president and many new members of Congress. She said they will realize that the program, at least the way it is set up, does not work and they will scrap the requirement for people to have the new identification cards.
Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, one of the architects of the legislation, said she has major concerns about protecting individual privacy.
She noted that the Real ID Act requires states to do more to verify the identity of those getting a driver’s license. That means not just a more thorough review of documents but also checking the authenticity of those documents through various databases.
And that, Johnson said, puts much of that information within reach of those who can hack their way into computer systems.
Keehner said the law does not create a single large database but instead allows each state to check other states’ databases. One purpose behind that, she said, is to ensure that individuals are not trying to get licenses in multiple states.
But Keehner said more could be involved, as motor vehicle division employees also would be required to verify the veracity of things like birth certificates, something she said could require exchanging information online with other states’ health or vital records agencies.
Napolitano used the opportunity of signing the bill to make another push for her “3-in-1” driver’s license. That document, available as an option to Arizonans who present additional information to the state, would serve not just as proof of being able to operate a motor vehicle but also would be proof of citizenship.
That allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the limited purpose of entering into the United States from either Mexico or Canada by land. And Napolitano said it would also serve as proof of the right to work legally in this country.
That measure died earlier this session without getting a hearing. Johnson said she sees no reason to resurrect it. And Johnson also noted these licenses would have “radio frequency identification” computer chips in them, allowing someone with a scanner to obtain each document’s unique number.
“They’ll track you everywhere you go,” Johnson said. “I’m sorry. I’m paranoid.”
Federal officials said those RFID chips are designed only to make scanning each person’s information easier at the border and cannot be read at distances of more than 20 feet.
Witness to History wrote on Jun 20, 2008 4:03 AM: