Thread: Support H.R.220 - Common Sense About Identity Theft & RE

A partial win for NC Citizens and their identity!

Heavy voter turnout expected today
By The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA — High energy from this year’s presidential race combined with intensely contested congressional races and important local issues are likely to draw an unusually heavy turnout at Maine’s polls today, the state’s top election official said.

"I’m thinking around 30 to 35 percent," which would be about 50 percent higher than usual for primary elections, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Monday.

Maine has no presidential primaries, but heavy participation at the presidential preference caucuses in February underscores Mainers’ strong interest in politics this year, Dunlap said.

Election officials usually go out of their way to remind people to vote, but "people are thinking about voting because it’s a presidential election year," said Dunlap. "And we don’t have to struggle with [reminding people] this year."

Dunlap said other factors are at work as well to bring out voters, including a U.S. Senate primary, contested primaries in the 1st Congressional District, legislative primaries in two dozen districts across the state, and local issues, especially school budget votes.

Pre-election activity was heavy in southern Maine’s 1st Congressional District, where six Democrats and two Republicans are vying for their respective parties’ nominations for the seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Allen. The six-term Democratic congressman is favored to beat politically untested Tom Ledue for their party’s nod to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

The U.S. House candidates hit the streets all over the 1st District. On Monday morning, Democrat Ethan Strimling and Republican Charles Summers and their supporters waved to motorists on opposite approaches to the Casco Bay Bridge in South Portland and Portland.

Chellie Pingree’s campaign schedule took her to the Augusta, Hallowell and Winthrop areas, while Adam Cote concentrated on meeting voters in the Biddeford-Saco area.

"It’s all about reminding people to vote on Tuesday," Cote said.

As he headed to Portland’s busy Exchange Street to shake hands and hand out campaign literature, Michael Brennan said a series of attacks and counterattacks among some of the other candidates would help his cause.

"We definitely believe momentum is going our way. I still feel we’re very competitive in this race," Brennan said.

Mark Lawrence made phone calls to voters and scheduled an afternoon shift-change stop at the Bath Iron Works gates. Also in the race is Stephen Meister. In the Republican 1st District primary, Summers faces political newcomer Dean Scontras.

Also on primary ballots around the state will be six contests among Democrats for state Senate and 18 House primaries, 10 of them featuring Democrats and the other eight matching up Republican nomination rivals.

Appearing on the statewide ballot will be a bond issue question seeking authorization of $29.7 million in long-term borrowing for natural resource, agricultural and transportation projects. They range from landfill cleanups and dam repairs to highway and bridge improvements.

Voters and election workers won’t be the only ones at the polls today.

Campaigns for two people’s veto campaigns — dealing with Real ID license restrictions and new taxes to pay for DirigoHealth — plan to set up tables to collect voters’ signatures at the polls.

Both are facing July 17 deadlines to collect at least 55,087 signatures needed to get their proposals on the November 2008 ballot. Considering the early deadline both face, they are expected to be at as many polling places as possible today to move their campaigns forward, election officials said.

One of the campaigns seeks to repeal taxes on beer, wine and soda and new surcharges insurers must pay on paid claims to fund the state-sponsored DirigoHealth insurance program. The other seeks to repeal a new law to bolster security of Maine’s driver’s licenses to bring the state into closer compliance with the federal Real ID Act.

Also gathering signatures will be a citizen’s initiative campaign to repeal Maine’s law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination and reaffirming the law that now prohibits marriage by people of the same sex.

That campaign does not face such tight deadlines to collect signatures because its question cannot go on the ballot before November 2009.

http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx? ... 3&zoneid=5

GCN Home > 06/09/08 issue
Intell law boosts Real ID
TSA enforces rules for air travelers to carry secure credentials

By Wilson P. Dizard

States that have invested in technology to comply with the contentious Real ID Act got a helpful, if unexpected, affirmation from the federal government May 26 when a Homeland Security Department agency issued long-delayed regulations that require the use of secure driver’s licenses or other secure biometric credentials to board domestic flights.

The technological impact of the new rules, enforced by the Transportation Security Administration, is to render moot many of the objections to Real ID credential security requirements.

The newly imposed requirements represent a somewhat unexpected end-run around the most controversial requirements of the Real ID law, which mandates the use of secure biometric credentials that provide proof of legal presence in the country and authorization to drive a car. People with legal presence can also obtain Real ID non-driver’s identification cards.

Legal presence is a recently developed term used to cover all individuals who are in the country legally. People who hold one of the dozens of types of visas issued by the federal government qualify for the legal presence designation.

Most people boarding airplanes use their driver’s licenses for identification.

All U.S.-issued driver’s licenses now comply with Real ID requirements, largely because DHS issued waivers to states that had not complied. The Real ID Act’s effect will be felt during the next several years, as states, DHS, the State Department and dozens of motor vehicle departments upgrade their security to meet its requirements.

For example, the law requires drivers to be authorized by secure biometric credentials and, for the first time, imposes national standards for the privacy and security of motor vehicle department computer systems. Hardening DMV systems against hacking or exploitation from within could defend against a range of opportunities for criminals to obtain apparently valid credentials.

The new TSA requirements mandate that travelers present compliant documents or face the prospect of interrogation and search in a process similar to the secondary inspection methods used on suspicious people who arrive from other countries. TSA chose to mesh the requirements imposed May 26 with those of Real ID to simplify compliance.

The regulations resulted from the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which requires DHS to propose minimum standards for identification documents required for domestic flights.

The May 26 regulations reflected Real ID requirements that had been scheduled to go into effect May 11. DHS had granted waivers to states that had not met the May 11 deadline. Several did not comply because of outright opposition to Real ID.

Invisible features

TSA’s announcement also puts into play a range of credential-reading devices that Customs and Border Protection, another DHS agency, has purchased and installed at airport checkpoints (GCN.com, Quickfind 1103).

The DHS officials have received training on how to use the equipment to inspect security features that can’t be seen by the naked eye. That inspection technology likely will evolve as the security features embedded in the credentials become more sophisticated.

The new TSA rules, however, lack a critical phase of the Real ID regulations — a pointer system that allows state officials to determine where an individual’s driving record is kept. They also lack a requirement that individuals prove legal presence to obtain a Real ID credential.

The enabling technologies for the pointer system and database infrastructure for the legal presence reviews haven’t been completed.

That network eventually will link DMVs with federal databases that assure a noncitizen’s legal presence in the country.

More news on related topics: Authentication / Identity Management, Homeland Security, State & Local

http://www.gcn.com/print/27_13/46429-1.html

The new TSA rules, however, lack a critical phase of the Real ID regulations — a pointer system that allows state officials to determine where an individual’s driving record is kept. They also lack a requirement that individuals prove legal presence to obtain a Real ID credential.

The enabling technologies for the pointer system and database infrastructure for the legal presence reviews haven’t been completed.

That network eventually will link DMVs with federal databases that assure a noncitizen’s legal presence in the country.

The network will eventually link DMV'S with federal databases..

THIS IS A NATIONAL ID CARD, Plain and simple.

Bill defies federal ID requirements
Louisiana Government Links
Louisiana Governor's Office
Gov.-Elect Bobby Jindal Transition site
Louisiana Lt. Governor's Office
Louisiana Legislature
Louisiana Attorney General
Louisiana Secretary of State
Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Department of Public Safety
Department of Transportation and Development

* By SARAH CHACKO
* Advocate Capitol News Bureau
* Published: Jun 11, 2008 - Page: 6A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.



Legislation that would direct a state department to ignore a federal mandate requiring a special identification card could end up restricting where Louisiana residents can go.

The Senate Committee of Judiciary A approved the legislation without objection Tuesday despite concerns that residents may have to buy passports to travel inside the states and to enter federal buildings.

House Bill 715 directs the state Department of Public Safety & Corrections not to implement the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.

Created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, REAL ID is a law that establishes minimum standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and personal identification cards, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Web site.

REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards would allow citizens to board a federally regulated airplane or access a federal facility or a nuclear power plant, the site states.

State Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles and sponsor of House Bill 715, said the federal act was passed by Congress as part of an amendment to a bill that was not debated. He said the measure is an unfunded mandate, requiring states to do the work without providing any money to do it.

State Rep. Jonathan Perry, who also spoke in favor of HB715, said the federal act is putting in motion the types of government controls he heard about as a child.

The legislation that enacted the program gives the federal government open-ended authority to include biometric information, like a person’s retinal scan, fingerprint and genetic information, said Perry, R-Kaplan.

“The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either,â€

Ariz. Legislature kills Real ID; critics point to hefty costs

15 comments by Matthew Benson - Jun. 11, 2008 10:01 PM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona legislators delivered a sharp rebuke Wednesday to federal plans for a uniform standard on state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards.

On a 51-1 final vote, House lawmakers sent Gov. Janet Napolitano their House Bill 2677, a measure barring the state from participating in the federal Real ID program.

If Napolitano signs the bill, Arizona will become the 10th state to prohibit compliance with the federal program.

But the legislation's impact is negligible for the time being because Real ID isn't slated to take effect for at least another 18 months.

Congress approved the program in 2005 as part of security recommendations stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Real ID calls for states to verify that applicants are legal citizens, and that cards include security features such as a digital photograph and signature.

While backers point to the need for IDs more adept at thwarting fraud and forgery, critics have voiced concerns about hefty costs - to be borne by the states - to develop the IDs.

Some opponents say the central databases needed increase the risk of identity theft and fear Real ID is a step toward a national identification card.

Groups across the political spectrum - from the ACLU to the John Birch Society - have aligned against the federal program.

State compliance is voluntary, but individuals will be required to carry identification that meets Real ID standards to board commercial flights or enter federal buildings. The program's implementation has already been delayed until the end of 2009.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said whether the governor will sign the bill is essentially a moot point given the lack of movement regarding the program.

"Real ID doesn't happen without the feds paying for it," L'Ecuyer said. "Real ID isn't going anywhere."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... d0612.html

June 11, 2008 - 6:50PM
Legislators OK ban on participating in Real ID
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

State legislators gave final approval Wednesday to a ban on Arizona participating in the federal government's Real ID program. The near-unanimous vote on HB2677 was driven by lawmakers' concerns the new type of driver's license, mandated three years ago by Congress, would become a de facto national identification card.

There also are fears the information about license holders, including Social Security numbers and copies of documents they provided to get the licenses in the first place, will wind up in some nationally linked database that could be "hacked" by identity thieves.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes Real ID, says Arizona would become the 10th state to pass a law prohibiting compliance with the federal mandate. But that is contingent on Gov. Janet Napolitano going along with the bill the Senate approved last month on a 21-7 margin. Press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer would not say Wednesday whether the governor will sign the bill when it reaches her desk.

Only Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, was in opposition. But Konopnicki said his vote was a protest: He could not get a hearing on his proposal to have Arizona create an optional "technologically enhanced" driver's license, one the federal government would recognize but without some of the drawbacks of Real ID.

The 2005 federal law directs Homeland Security to create new standards for states to use when issuing driver's licenses. That was a direct outgrowth of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when some of the hijackers carried state driver's licenses that were obtained fraudulently.

The idea is both to make it harder for people to acquire state licenses with false names as well as ensure the licenses themselves are tamper resistant.

The original deadline for implementing Real ID was last month. But when states refused to go along, Homeland Security agreed to delay that deadline until at least the end of 2009 for any state that sought an extension.

Napolitano said her biggest concern was not privacy but what she called an "unfunded mandate" that could cost states billions of dollars. But she did sign an agreement with Homeland Security in August to create what she calls a "3-in-1" license.

It could be used not only as a driver's license but would also be accepted by the federal government as proof of citizenship, meaning it could be used in lieu of a passport. That also would mean Arizona employers could accept it as proof someone is legally entitled to work in this country.

The governor, in an effort to sell the idea, said it would be optional: Residents could choose to keep their current licenses rather than purchase the more expensive ones.

But Napolitano needs legislative approval to create a new type of license to deliver on her deal with Homeland Security - the approval that Konopnicki was seeking to obtain with his measure, HB2762.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, quashed Konopnicki's bill - and the governor's plan - by refusing to bring it to a vote in the House Transportation Committee, which he chairs.

Among the concerns is that Konopnicki's bill allowed the 3-in-1 licenses to be embedded with a radio frequency identification computer chip that could be read by nearby scanners.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/118327

Legislature acts to opt AZ out of Real ID
Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Paul Davenport
Associated Press Writer / June 11, 2008

PHOENIX—Legislators on Wednesday sent Gov. Janet Napolitano a bill to make Arizona the latest state to refuse to implement new "Real ID" security standards mandated by the federal government for driver's licenses.
more stories like this

House approval of the bill on a 51-1 vote with no debate Wednesday completed legislative action on the bill. It was approved, 21-7, by the Senate on May 6.

What happens next with the bill is unclear because Napolitano hasn't indicated whether she'll sign or veto it.

The bill would have no immediate impact even if it becomes law because Arizona has already received a federal extension on Real ID compliance to 2009.

However, its passage is clearly trouble for Napolitano's own proposal for an enhanced "3-in-1" driver's license. She needs legislative authorization for that, and a bill to provide that approval was introduced but not heard during the current session.

At least eight other states have enacted legislation refusing to implement the Real ID law, which was enacted in 2005 military spending legislation and proposed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

It requires all states to bring their driver's licenses under a national standard and to link their record-keeping systems.

Implementation of the law would require the public to show need Real ID-compliant driver's licenses or other identification in order to enter federal buildings or board airplanes.

While the Bush administration says the law will hinder terrorists, illegal immigrants and other wrongdoers, Real ID faces criticism from states and others because of the federal mandate, costs to states and privacy concerns.

The Arizona bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Judy Burgess of Skull Valley, said it represents "a Real ID tea party at the statehouse."

Burges said she's particularly concerned that database connections could ease identity theft.

"What happens is the database would be shared clear across the United States and we would be subject to the weakest link in other states," she said.

States that have rejected the Real ID act, some with conditions, include Idaho, New Hampshire, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, Oklahoma and Maine. Minnesota's governor vetoed a prohibition bill on April 25.

The National Conference of State Legislatures' president, state Rep. Donna Stone of Delaware, told a U.S. Senate subcommittee in April that the Real ID law should be repealed and replaced with a negotiated rulemaking process that would include state lawmakers.

Napolitano on Dec. 6 signed an agreement with U.S. Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on development of an alternative 3-in-1 driver's license with enhanced security features that could also be used to cross borders and verify employment eligibility.

Key Arizona legislators vowed to fight the proposal, calling it a step toward compliance with Real ID and an infringement on the Legislature's policy-making role.

Napolitano calls the deal with Chertoff a realistic and appropriate means to do employment eligibility checks and meet tough new federal ID requirements to enter the United States from Canada and Mexico.

As described by Napolitano, Arizonans could either get the 3-in-1 license or the current license.

Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, cast the only Arizona House vote against the bill on Wednesday, saying later that he favored authorization for the 3-in-1 license instead.

Real ID "could change dramatically next year -- it has to," Konopnicki said. "But we have to be able to board airplanes."

------

On the Net:

Arizona Legislature: http://www.azleg.gov

Gov. Janet Napolitano: http://www.governor.state.az.us/

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

National Conference of State Legislatures: http://www.ncsl.org/

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/ ... f_real_id/

Legislature votes to opt Arizona out of Real ID program
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Legislators on Wednesday sent Gov. Janet Napolitano a bill to make Arizona the latest state to refuse to implement new "Real ID" security standards mandated by the federal government for driver's licenses.
House approval of the bill (HB2677) on a 51-1 vote with no debate Wednesday completed legislative action on the bill. It was approved, 21-7, by the Senate on May 6.
What happens next with the bill is unclear because Napolitano hasn't indicated whether she'll sign or veto it.
The bill would have no immediate impact even if it becomes law because Arizona has already received a federal extension on Real ID compliance to 2009.
However, its passage is clearly trouble for Napolitano's own proposal for an enhanced "3-in-1" driver's license. She needs legislative authorization for that. A bill to provide that approval was introduced but not heard during the current session.
At least eight other states have enacted legislation refusing to implement the Real ID law, which was enacted in 2005 military spending legislation and proposed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
It requires all states to bring their driver's licenses under a national standard and to link their record-keeping systems.
Implementation of the law would require the public to show Real ID-compliant driver's licenses or other identification in order to enter federal buildings or board airplanes.
While the Bush administration says the law will hinder terrorists, illegal immigrants and other wrongdoers, Real ID faces criticism from states and others because of the federal mandate, costs to states and privacy concerns.
The Arizona bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Judy Burgess of Skull Valley, said it represents "a Real ID tea party at the statehouse."
Burges said she's particularly concerned that database connections could ease identity theft.
"What happens is the database would be shared clear across the United States and we would be subject to the weakest link in other states," she said.
States that have rejected the Real ID act, some with conditions, include Idaho, New Hampshire, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, Oklahoma and Maine. Minnesota's governor vetoed a prohibition bill on April 25.
The National Conference of State Legislatures' president, state Rep. Donna Stone of Delaware, told a U.S. Senate subcommittee in April that the Real ID law should be repealed and replaced with a negotiated rulemaking process that would include state lawmakers.
Napolitano on Dec. 6 signed an agreement with U.S. Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on development of an alternative 3-in-1 driver's license with enhanced security features that could also be used to cross borders and verify employment eligibility.
Key Arizona legislators vowed to fight the proposal, calling it a step toward compliance with Real ID and an infringement on the Legislature's policy-making role.
Napolitano calls the deal with Chertoff a realistic and appropriate means to do employment eligibility checks and meet tough new federal ID requirements to enter the United States from Canada and Mexico.
As described by Napolitano, Arizonans could either get the 3-in-1 license or the current license.
Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, cast the only Arizona House vote against the bill on Wednesday, saying later that he favored authorization for the 3-in-1 license instead.
Real ID "could change dramatically next year - it has to," Konopnicki said. "But we have to be able to board airplanes."

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/87954.php

Insider Report/Inside Track
Minnesota and Alaska Legislatures Reject Real ID
By: JBS Staff
June 23, 2008
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In May Minnesota and Alaska became the eighth and ninth states whose legislatures have rejected Real ID, joining Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington. A dozen more states have approved resolutions calling for the costs of the Real ID program to be fully covered by Congress or the act repealed.

Minnesota’s Real ID resolution (HF3807) was clearly stated and uncompromising: “Section 1. Noncompliance With Real ID Act. The commissioner of public safety is prohibited from taking any action to implement or to plan for the implementation by this state of those sections of Public Law 109-13 known as the Real ID Act.â€