Thread: Lawmakers demand funding for Real ID requirements

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_ha ... uirements/

Lawmakers demand funding for Real ID requirements

By Erik Schelzig, Associated Press Writer | August 15, 2006

NASHVILLLE, Tenn. --Some lawmakers at a national meeting of state legislatures want Congress to either find a way to pay for standardizing driver's license requirements, or to repeal the Real ID Act.
Members of the Real ID committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures on Tuesday approved the resolution which would become the official lobbying position of the NCSL if approved at the group's business meeting later this week.
"Basically we need to put our foot down and tell Congress that they need to fully fund it before they force the states to comply with the Real ID act," said Georgia state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, a Republican who introduced the amendment. "If they can't do it, they need to repeal the law."
If approved, state legislatures would join a number of other groups -- including civil libertarians, immigration rights activists and state motor vehicle officials -- who are upset at the regulations scheduled to go into effect in 2008.
The measure would call for full funding by the end of 2007.
Tennessee state Sen. Joe Haynes, a Democrat, said he supported the NCSL measure "because we're tired of federal mandates."
"If they're going to tell us to, we want them to provide funding for it," he said.
New Hampshire in May ended its rebellion against becoming a pilot state for the new driver's license rules. Earlier this year, the New Hampshire House voted overwhelmingly to bar the state from participating in the program, citing privacy concerns.
But the state Senate later passed a different version of the bill, and it was killed when the two Republican-controlled chambers couldn't agree on a compromise.
A major goal of Real ID -- which was motivated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, whose perpetrators had legitimate driver's licenses -- is to unify the disparate licensing rules and make it harder to obtain a card fraudulently.
The law also demands that states link their record-keeping systems to national databases so duplicate applications can be detected, illegal immigrants caught and driving histories shared.
State licenses that fail to meet Real ID's standards will be invalid for boarding an airplane or entering a federal building.
In addition to the costs for document verification and storage, state lawmakers are worried about the negative reaction of people trying to obtain licenses
"It's not the people in D.C. who are going to feel the brunt of the outrage of the public when they cannot get the required ID to be able to travel," Seabaugh said. "It's going to be us at the state level."

"Basically we need to put our foot down and tell Congress that they need to fully fund it before they force the states to comply with the Real ID act," said Georgia state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, a Republican who introduced the amendment. "If they can't do it, they need to repeal the law."

They should do away w/ the Real ID act altogether. I hope it gets repealed.

There's enough Pork projects and careless spending, if the Government is so serious about it.......let the Feds foot the bill. It's their problem that created this crisis. I don't want this real ID crap either. Atleast not for long term legal citizens. If they want it for the illegals...fine...the federal government pays since they aren't letting willing states do the job they don't want to do. Like arrest and DEPORT them. Let this experiment be tried and failed on them........not me.