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

Maine group questions Real ID grant
June 24, 2008

AUGUSTA, Maine—Maine is receiving a $1 million federal grant to bring the state closer to compliance with the Real ID anti-terrorism law.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union says the Department of Homeland Security grant can be used for facial recognition technology and other driver's license security measures to bring the state into compliance with Real ID. But the MCLU points out that Maine is barred by state law from compliance with the 2007 law.

A separate law passed this year bolsters Maine driver's license security. Passage of the law removed the threat that state residents would be put through extra security when boarding planes or entering federal facilities. The MCLU supports efforts to repeal that law through a ballot initiative.

Gov. John Baldacci supports the license law, which he says is not Real ID. Baldacci says the state can receive the federal grant without being Real ID compliant.

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

Commentary - Jim Harper: A good way to save $80 million? Junk REAL ID program
Article History
There are updates to this article.
Jun 25, 2008 3:00 AM (1 day ago) by Jim Harper, The Examiner

Filed under: WASHINGTON , Jim Harper , Think Tanking
Comment on this article

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The Department of Homeland Security is throwing good money after bad. Congress should immediately rescind this spending and repeal the national ID law.

In May, the deadline for state compliance with the REAL ID Act passed without a single state meeting the national ID law’s requirements.

Now we see that the DHS’s grant-making process is in collapse, and it can’t even buy state participation.

Many states have barred themselves by law from implementing REAL ID, and grant applications from other states were described by an insider as “very poor.â€

More states frustrated over Real ID
Thursday, June 26 2008

Homeland Security starts writing checks but states are still frsutrated



By Zack Martin, Editor

Real ID came out of the 9/11 Commission recommendations suggesting states should do more to identify individuals applying for driver license and state IDs. This was in response to the fact that some of the 9/11 hijackers were able to obtain multiple driver licenses from different states.

To say the law is controversial is an understatement. The 2005 legislation is the new boogeyman. Some say it’s the first stop toward a national ID and eventually a police state where every citizen will have to present his or her “papersâ€

Episode 17: Maine has privacy concerns with Real ID
Tuesday, July 1 2008

At least 12 states have passed legislation saying they won't comply with Real ID, the federal mandate to secure state-issues IDs and driver licenses. Lawmakers in Main have been particularly outspoken regarding the law. Regarding ID Editor Zack Martin speaks with Maine State Sen. Phil Bartlett about the law and why the state has some concerns.

Download MP3.
http://www.regardingid.com/audio/episode17_062608.mp3

http://www.rfidnews.org/news/2008/07/01 ... h-real-id/

REAL ID, real scary

Missouri won the "right" to institutionalize a totalitarian agenda when it received a contract award for REAL ID authentication ("Missouri wins Real ID grant contest," June 21). Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a bald-faced untruth when he said the citizens of this country wanted REAL ID. Ten states have refused to implement REAL ID; 13 have laws in the works to stop its implementation, including Missouri.

The REAL ID future plan is to implement its use across state lines. In other words, if you want to go from Kansas to Missouri you need REAL ID.

I hope, "Give me your papers" won't become a part of our culture. This country needs to be awakened from its coma.

Joseph Grossmann | Florissant

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

Vehicle renewals to cost $5 more at DMV offices
In-person fee aims to shift transactions to phone or Internet

Sunday, Jun 29, 2008 - 12:09 AM


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By JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Starting July 1, renewing your motor-vehicle registration at one of Virginia's 74 Department of Motor Vehicles offices is going to cost you more than a wait.

Try another $5.

Renewing your registration in person will cost $44, up from $39.

The increase, which the General Assembly approved this year in Senate Bill 116, is part of an effort to shift many routine DMV customer services to the phone or Internet.

The result, officials say, will save the department money and mean less waiting in line at DMV branches. It also will free employees to help customers with more complex transactions, and allow the department to begin preparing to implement the federally mandated Real ID program in late 2009. That law, which Congress passed in 2005, sets national standards for state-issued driver's licenses.

"We'd like to reduce waiting lines, and it's cheaper on a transactional basis," said DMV Commissioner D.B. Smit.

"We're also looking at Real ID, and we've got to clear out a lot of space to make room for folks that are going to have to come in to our customer-service centers to get their driver's license renewed when it comes into effect."

Officials say nearly 99 percent of vehicle-registration renewals can be processed without going to a DMV office. Currently, only 65 percent of Virginia car owners renew by mail, phone or Internet.

The $5 surcharge stick is not without a carrot -- those who register online will receive a $1 discount on the current fee and avoid the $5 surcharge. Those who renew for a two-year period will receive a $2 discount.

Those who renew registrations by mail will also avoid the $5 surcharge, as will those who use the DMV's automated phone service.

The $5 surcharge will be waived if a customer has to use the service center for an additional transaction that cannot be completed through any other means.

Officials note that only a handful of transactions need to be done in person at a DMV customer-service center. Among them are the first-time application for a driver's license, obtaining a commercial driver's license and obtaining an identification card.

DMV has until December 2009 to implement the first stage of the Real ID Act.

The complex act will, in part, establish electronic databases to verify identifications people use to board airplanes and enter federal facilities.

Eventually, every driver in the state will have to come to a DMV customer-service center to renew their license for the first time after the law is implemented.

Officials say it will bring 250,000 more people into DMV offices each year, which they say is another reason to encourage customers now, by means of a surcharge, to avoid using the offices for the easy transactions.

"We're going to start moving that traffic out and backfilling with much more complex transactions," Smit said. "This creates the space that we otherwise would not have."
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx. ... -0118.html

Published: June 29, 2008 10:14 pm

Real ID still being eyed by lawmaker

By Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Just how much personal data on American citizens does the federal government need in its vast network of computer files to safeguard the homeland from terrorists and keep track of illegal aliens?

For two men generally on opposite sides of the political spectrum, that is the heart of their opposition to Real ID.

“The issue is still the issue of privacy,â€

Real ID not needed, invades privacy

July 02, 2008

Editor, the Record:

I am sorely disappointed in the vote by Representatives Scavello and Siptroth on Wednesday against Representative Rohrer's amendment to HB 2537.

Sam Rohrer's bill, HB 1351, opposes implementation of Real ID in Pennsylvania. Rather than allow it out of committee onto the floor for a vote, Representative Curtis Thomas engaged in a shameful program of holding "hearings" in various Pennsylvania locations. His stated objective was to hear from the people.

After seeing what went on at the hearing in Scranton, I have concluded that Thomas was there merely to try to convince the public that Real ID is badly needed. At the hearing, I heard plenty of testimony from the public against it.

Clearly, the people are not crying out for more government intrusion, but less. In my estimation, this is a clear-cut case of government run amok attempting to force upon the people something which they do not want.

As if to rub salt into this wound, Thomas introduced his own Real ID bill (HB 2537) and fast-tracked it through his committee and onto the floor for a vote, while Representative Rohrer's bill accumulated dust for over a year. This is shameful.

The major difference in the bills is that the Thomas bill omits prohibitions against biometric data gathering by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT has already converted our DL photos over to biometric data without our permission. That data can now be added to a nationwide database, and shared with other governments and the United Nations.

Rohrer's amendment would have added back into Thomas's bill that prohibition for the protection of the rights and privacy of Pennsylvania citizens.

Mr. Siptroth and Scavello are seriously wrong about this issue. They have voted against the people and the Constitution of this Commonwealth.

DANIEL WOLFE

Gouldsboro

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http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.d ... /807020308

Signature effort takes place
By MATTHEW STONE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 07/06/2008

Signature-gathering volunteers seeking to repeal Maine legislators’ April decision to comply with federal REAL ID provisions staked out civic celebrations across the state this weekend.

As the results of their signature collection push filter in, however, leaders of the effort to bring the REAL ID question before voters in November are still uncertain how close they have come to the 55,087-signature threshold.

“I just don’t know,â€

Repeal Real ID: Petition progress not yet known
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By Matthew Stone Kennebec Journal Staff Writer July 05, 2008 01:47 PM

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Signature-gathering volunteers seeking to repeal Maine legislators' decision to comply with federal Real ID provisions staked out civic celebrations across the state this weekend.

As the results of their signature collection push filter in, however, leaders of the effort to land the Real ID question before voters in November are still uncertain how close they have come to the 55,087-signature threshold.

"I just don't know," said Lu Bauer, one of three people coordinating the repeal effort. "We've got a big push on right now. Certainly a lot are being collected."

The group faces a July 17 deadline to turn in the more than 55,000 signatures -- equal to a third of the votes cast in the 2006 gubernatorial contest -- to the Secretary of State's office. Volunteers, however, must have their petitions certified by local clerks before submitting them to the Secretary of State.

http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/nu_c ... p?id=29808