Lawmakers decry federal Real ID Act as move to usurp state's
Lawmakers decry federal Real ID Act as move to usurp state's power
By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press Writer
HELENA — One of the stronger statements against federal identification cards is headed to the Senate floor, a bill that would reject the proposed federal Real ID Act altogether.
A number of states fighting the federal Real ID Act have chosen to protest with nonbinding resolutions. A few, like Montana, are refusing to comply.
"Montana would be seen as a leader," said Scott Crichton, executive director of the ACLU of Montana.
Montana lawmakers have nearly unanimously called the federal Real ID Act of 2005 an attempt by the federal government to usurp power from state governments. They say it threatens an individual's right to privacy, which is guaranteed by the Montana Constitution.
"I think this is a good idea to let the federal government know we are unhappy with what they are doing," said State Sen. Jerry O'Neil, R-Kalispell.
The Senate Judiciary Committee pushed the bill to the floor on Monday, while voting against a similar plan that went a step further and attempted to "nullify" the federal law. Both had previously cleared the state House.
Some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee supported the plan to nullify the Real ID act, but others said the proposed nullification relies on a murky set of court decisions dating back to before the Civil War.
"This is unconstitutional. We cannot do this," said committee chairman Sen. Jesse Laslovich, D-Anaconda. "The state doesn't have the power to nullify a federal law. Period."
The favored proposal says, in part, that "the state of Montana will not participate in the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005."
Maine and Idaho have adopted the stronger action to deny implementation of the Real ID act, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Similar bills are working through other legislatures, the group said.
Crichton said a national rebellion is taking place against the federal law largely because it forces a mandate on state government without paying for it. The ACLU opposes it because it would require state governments to collect documents such as birth certificates and other private information in a single, national database.
The Real ID Act, which takes effect next year, grew out of a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission to incorporate common security features into state driver's licenses to prevent tampering or counterfeiting. States will be responsible for verifying the legitimacy of documents used to obtain a license, such as a birth certificates or green cards.
States say it will cost them millions of dollars more in staffing and new computer systems.
Congress is now considering repealing the measure.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/p ... 30327/1002
Good call on Real ID measures
Good call on Real ID measures
The Senate Judiciary Committee made a wise move Monday to table a bill attempting to nullify the federal Real ID Act while moving another, more reasonable bill to the Senate floor on a 12-0 vote.
The nullification measure relied on some less-than-iron clad legal precedents said to give states the right to reject federal laws that improperly wrest authority from the states. But that’s a shaky proposition: generally speaking, states (as opposed to the courts) simply have no authority to overturn laws passed by Congress.
The other bill is more reasonable, and still adamantly rejects the Real ID Act by flat-out refusing to implement the measure.
The rejection has wide bipartisan support because the Real ID Act has something to offend just about everybody. On the one hand, by requiring states to adopt identical drivers’ licenses and verify the documentation necessary for people to obtain them — and by not footing any of the bill — the Department of Homeland Security would in effect “commandeer” control of state drivers licensing bureaus and cost states more than $11 billion over the first five years.
On the other hand, the Real ID Act would significantly undermine the individual privacy guaranteed by the Montana Constitution, and could even put people’s identity at risk. Storing all that private information in databases that can be shared with other states and the federal government is an open invitation for it to be stolen, sold or accidentally revealed.
The hope is that if enough states rebel, Congress will repeal the act as the bad idea it always was.
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/0 ... 307_01.txt
Rebuff REAL ID: NH gets a second chance
Rebuff REAL ID: NH gets a second chance
17 hours, 17 minutes ago
Last spring the state House of Representatives passed a bill rejecting the state's participation in the federal REAL ID Act. The Senate killed the bill. Today the House has a chance to correct the Senate's mistake from a year ago.
House Bill 685 would prohibit the state from taking part in REAL ID, a misguided 2005 federal law designed to create a national identification card.
REAL ID would turn New Hampshire driver's licenses into electronic federal identification cards. Personal information stored in the licenses would be accessible via computer by thousands of federal bureaucrats, not to mention state DMV personnel.
This national database of personal information would be a hacker's mother lode. And if you think it would be safe in the federal government's hands, just remember those FBI laptops.
The House Transportation Committee sees this act for the burdensome intrusion that it is. The committee voted 16-0 to recommend passage of HB 685. The full house should pass the bill. This time it might find a more friendly reception in the Senate and New Hampshire can stand up to the federal government and say, no, we are not risking the privacy of our citizens for the false sense of security given by REAL ID.
http://www.unionleader.com
South Carolina Senate rejects federal driver's license plan
Posted on Wed, Apr. 04, 2007
South Carolina
STATE NEWS IN BRIEF
COLUMBIA
Senate rejects federal driver's license plan
The S.C. Senate voted Tuesday to join the growing number of states that are rejecting a federal call for a national driver's license.
Complying with the federal Real ID Act of 2005 would cost the state $25 million to start, then $11 million a year.
Under the bill the Senate approved Tuesday, South Carolina would not participate in the program, which also would link states' record-keeping systems to national databases, until the federal government agreed to help pay for it and provide privacy protections.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/my ... 025398.htm
Could Real ID Act Herald the Apocalypse?
From Robert Longley,
Your Guide to U.S. Gov Info / Resources.
Could Real ID Act Herald the Apocalypse?
Just in case you needed another reason the hate the federal Real ID Act, besides its cost, potential invasion of privacy and monumental inconvenience, some evangelical Christians are sure the law is the next step to the apocalypse and represents the "mark of the beast."
By requiring the universal issuance of high-tech national identification cards, typically in the form of a drivers license, some fundamentalists contend that the Real ID Act is predicted in the Book of Revelations.
"Some Christians interpret verses from the book of Revelation that say humans will be 'marked … so that no one can buy or sell who does not have that mark' as a prophecy of a global numerical control system to be used by the beast, or antichrist. The number would be used during the Great Tribulation, which some Christians believe will precede the second coming of Jesus," writes Derek Kravitz in the Jefferson City, Missouri Post-dispatch.
Under the Real ID Act, persons not carrying the state-issued ID cards would not be allowed to board commercial airliners, open certain bank accounts or enter federal buildings, including courthouses -- acts equated by some with the ability to "buy or sell" as stated in Revelations.
The Book of Revelations, Chapter 13, Verses 15-18:
15: And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16: And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Also See:
Real ID Act: Better Have Your Birth Certificate!
Real ID Act Could Costs States $11 Billion
States Race to Reject Real ID Act
REAL-ID Act Deadline Extended by DHS
Wednesday April 4, 2007 | comments (0)
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/a/217566.htm