Officials opposing REAL ID statute
Costs, privacy main concerns
Matt Koesters
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News

The architect of a resolution voicing Ohio's opposition to a controversial federal law earned a promotion to a prominent committee leadership role.

Ohio Rep. Diana Fessler (R-District 79) is the main sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 18, which calls for the federal government to repeal the REAL ID act of 2005.

The resolution has the bi-partisan support of nine other representatives, said Michael Dittoe, legislative aide to Rep. Fessler. If the resolution passes both houses of the Ohio General Assembly, letters would be sent to the president and all members of U.S. Congress.

Last week, Rep. Fessler took over the position of vice-chair of the Ohio House of Representatives Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veteran's Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Steve Reinhard (R-District 82). Her resolution has been in the same committee since being introduced in spring 2007, but has not yet received a hearing, according to Dittoe.

"That's been very disappointing for our office," Dittoe said. Dittoe is hopeful Rep. Fessler's appointment to vice-chair of the committee will help move HCR 18 forward.

"She'll be able to help Rep. Reinhard get HCR 18 on the agenda," Dittoe said. "But that's yet to be seen at this point."

U.S. Congress passed the REAL ID act of 2005 to make it more difficult to fraudulently acquire a driver's license or identification card as part of an effort to fight terrorism and reduce fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site.

"The American public's desire for greater identity protection is undeniable," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in a Jan. 11 DHS press release. "Americans understand today that the 9/11 hijackers obtained 30 drivers licenses and IDs, and used 364 aliases. For an extra $8 per license, REAL ID will give law enforcement and security officials a powerful advantage against falsified documents, and it will bring some peace of mind to citizens wanting to protect their identity from theft by a criminal or illegal alien."

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