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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Battle lines drawn as driver's license ID law gets nearer

    http://www.signonsandiego.com

    Battle lines drawn as driver's license ID law gets nearer

    By Michael Gardner
    COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
    June 25, 2006

    SACRAMENTO – In the name of national security, California motorists probably will confront more hassles and higher fees when it's time to renew their licenses to drive.

    Under the federal Real ID Act, California's 23 million licensed drivers will have to submit to more stringent identification requirements once renewal notices appear in mailboxes starting in May 2008.

    But the battle between the states and the federal government over how to make it work is well under way.

    Whether coming from Missouri or Mexico, motorists could be kept from legally climbing behind the wheel if they cannot track down birth certificates or other documents demanded by the government.

    Drivers also will probably have to renew their licenses in person, forcing the California Department of Motor Vehicles to begin mapping out plans to rent satellite offices and hire more help to handle the expected crunch. At the same time, the $26 renewal fee could double to offset added costs, which could be as high as $400 million during the next five years.

    Beyond potential headaches for the nation's licensed drivers, the Real ID Act has drawn strong criticism and brought together an unusual coalition of liberals, libertarians and others who fear an unprecedented invasion of privacy.

    Attacks will escalate this fall when the Bush administration tells states and drivers exactly what they must do to conform and, in effect, draft motor vehicle departments into the war on terror.

    “Travel documents are as important as weapons to terrorists,” said Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the Wisconsin Republican who was the principle sponsor of the act.

    But privacy advocates fear the license law will lead to another expansion of government snooping, a concern heightened by revelations of the secret tracking of banking transactions and phone calls.

    “An identification card is always the front-end of a national surveillance system,” said Jim Harper, an analyst at the Cato Institute based in Washington, D.C.

    Kevin Keenan, executive director of the San Diego area chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, warned, “This lays the infrastructure for total surveillance. That's not a free society. That's not what our founding fathers signed up for.”

    Congress adopted the Real ID Act in May 2005, arguing that licenses gave the Sept. 11 hijackers unimpeded access to the planes that they used to attack the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

    Congress made the Real ID Act voluntary – at least technically. But the punishment for not accepting the guidelines will be severe. Licenses issued by states that do not comply will not be recognized as identification to board airplanes, open bank accounts or enter Social Security offices.

    “From the far left we hear wishful thinking that we don't have to comply, but that's not the reality,” said state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, who is carrying legislation, SB 1160, designed to enact state compliance.

    The California Department of Motor Vehicles is preparing to develop a program once the federal government issues its requirements. Officials expect applicants will have to show proof of legal residency, most likely a birth certificate or passport. A Social Security number and photo identification also may be required.

    Much of the information is already required of first-time applicants. But those needing renewals will experience dramatic change.

    Today, drivers fill out a simple renewal form and send it in by mail or over the Internet. In the future, they will have to visit a DMV office armed with key identifying documents and a bigger check.

    “Once we start telling Californians that they have to march to DMV, show proof of birth and proof of residency, all hell will break loose,” said state Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland.

    “No one will look at George Bush to blame. They're going to look at who's doing this: DMV,” he said.

    Perata and other legislative leaders have started to question whether California should simply obey. They are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to use his stature as a prominent Republican to convince the ruling GOP in Washington to guard privacy, provide more time for implementation and send more money.

    “Since California is the big dog in the kennel, we ought to be saying 'Hell no, we're not going,' ” Perata said in urging modifications.

    The governor has appointed Sunne McPeak, his secretary for Business, Transportation and Housing, to help develop recommendations. However, Schwarzenegger has yet to take an active role.

    Last year, the governor vetoed legislation similar to Cedillo's current bill, mostly over the issue of licenses for illegal immigrants. In his veto message, the governor said the state should hold off on legislation.

    “Once the federal rule making is finalized, it would be appropriate to engage in discussions relating to implementation of the act,” Schwarzenegger said then.

    Under the expected rules, California will have to connect to a 50-state computer network stuffed with personal data used to verify the identities of 240 million licensed drivers nationwide.

    Privacy advocates question whether some motor vehicle divisions, already perceived to be inept and admittedly behind the times technologically, can be trusted to safeguard Social Security numbers and other sensitive information valued by identity thieves.

    States already are scratching for dollars to quickly launch a revolutionary expansion of traditional licensing systems. Many governors are pessimistic that Congress will write a large enough appropriation, thereby sticking state taxpayers and motorists with the bill.

    Bill Cather, who monitors legislation for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, said sharply higher renewal fees are a “last option,” but he has warned lawmakers of the consequences of a stingy Congress.

    “We are still working pretty much in the dark,” Cather said. “The final regulations will likely contain some surprises.”

    California budget writers don't appear interested in disrupting the early stages of the state's response to the act, tentatively approving $20 million for the DMV.

    Keenan, the ACLU official, said the time to demand compromise is now. “There is enough anger and fear to get some reform,” he said.

    Once released, the regulations will spark an intense national debate, both sides agree. The act will be hailed as necessary to keep the country safe from the threat of terrorism and attacked as a menace to civil liberties.

    “It's not only laudable. It's essential,” Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, said of the act.

    But some lawmakers have reservations over what may wind up being lax privacy safeguards.

    “The back door is wide open for anyone in another state to waltz right through to get access to California's database and steal records that can be used to commit identity theft,” said Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey.

    Privacy advocates agree. “The Real ID Act is remarkably spineless when it comes to safeguards,” said Lee Tien, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

    Lungren, Sensenbrenner's spokesman, stressed that there will be more protection in the Real ID Act than what is in place in DMV computers today.

    The act also is being criticized for potentially leading to the use of radio frequency identification technology, or RFID, now employed by retailers to track inventory.

    The technology could someday be used to embed information in a driver's licenses, exposing motorists to identity thieves who can use handheld readers to glean the personal data from 20 feet away, critics charge.

    Even the federal Department of Homeland Security has doubts. “RFID appears to offer little benefit when compared to the consequences it brings for privacy and data integrity,” said a departmental draft report under review.

    State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is carrying a bill to bar the RFID technology from use in licenses.

    Michelle Tatro, whose protests shed light on a plan to use RFID in badges at her daughter's school near Sacramento, said every parent should be worried. Stalkers, she said, could use RFID readers to obtain information from licenses issued to teenage girls.

    “Do we really want to go there?” Tatro asked.

    States mulling over compliance also must decide whether to allow illegal immigrants to obtain distinguishable “driving-only” licenses – an option allowed under the Real ID Act. Some states are looking at that provision to help those here legally, but who have difficulty finding residency documents. Those licenses, or certificates, could not be used for identification.

    Cedillo's pending legislation to authorize California's cooperation is entangled in the heated debate over licenses for illegal immigrants. Cedillo has refused to separate the two issues. Schwarzenegger vows to veto a two-fold compliance measure.

    Foreshadowing the debate has been an intense national spotlight on immigration reform and border security.

    U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, said he supports the Real ID Act because he believes there is a link between identification standards, terrorists and illegal immigrants.

    “There's nothing that makes us more vulnerable to terrorists than the out-of-control flow of illegal immigrants,” Rohrabacher said.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member curiouspat's Avatar
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    “An identification card is always the front-end of a national surveillance system,” said Jim Harper, an analyst at the Cato Institute based in Washington, D.C.
    Congress made the Real ID Act voluntary – at least technically. But the punishment for not accepting the guidelines will be severe. Licenses issued by states that do not comply will not be recognized as identification to board airplanes, open bank accounts or enter Social Security offices.
    Voluntary, yeah right...sarcasm intended.
    TIME'S UP!
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    Why should <u>only</u> AMERICAN CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants, have to obey the law?!

  3. #3
    Senior Member crazybird's Avatar
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    oh ya.....mandatory voluntary.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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