No Real Bucks for Real ID

"No Real Bucks for Real ID" is the title of a short Business Intelignece network article, June 23, 2005. The sub head is States bristle at lack of funding for new driver's license requirements.. Quotes:

The Real ID Act requiring U.S. citizens to carry federally approved identification cards has created a potentially huge, unfunded mandate that is sending shock waves through state governments.

"It's going to be a major challenge for any state to create a computer system that can grapple with this [legislation]," said Matthew Dunlap, Maine's secretary of state, who oversees the state's motor vehicles bureau. "A lot of states are taking a deep breath and asking, 'What are we up against?"

$237 million, not $2 million!

An article in the North carolina News Observer talks says the RealID law is "a blow to state DMV budget." The story contains this amazing sentence:

"Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who sponsored the bill, said he thought it would cost the average state less than $2 million over five years. But Virginia transportation officials estimated it will cost $237 million to comply with the law."

Real Problems with "Real ID"

The Center for American Progress has a good article summarizing the issues raised by RealID legislation, with references to other articles. Quotes:

"REAL ID would not have prevented 9/11. The 9/11 hijackers entered the U.S. with proper immigration documents, were “legal immigrants” when they received driver’s licenses, and possessed valid foreign passports that allowed them to board an airplane."

Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) said the bill “forces entry-level state employees ... to be INS agents. That's totally ridiculous. The states are going to have to enforce [immigration] laws that the federal government doesn't have the will to do."