State Worries about Real ID: kept secret ????

PrideSource has an interesing article about Real ID, but one aspect really caught my eye. In Michigan. the ACLU obtained documents indicating that

"Michigan state officials are concerned that federal legislation called the Real ID Act will require extensive changes to existing practices at the Secretary of State's Office. Concerns include the difficulty of implementation by the Act's deadline and heavy expenses that will have to be absorbed by Michigan taxpayers and license applicants.
...
Civil liberties groups, conservative groups, immigration groups - we've all been saying that Real ID will be a real disaster and needs to be revisited by Congress," said Kary Moss, ACLU of Michigan executive director. "These documents indicate that Michigan officials - the people actually responsible for carrying out this ill-conceived law - also have serious problems with Real ID."

Here's my question: Why are state officials being the least bit secretve about their concerns? They should be shouting their worries out loud!

Transgender people --- OOPS!

People who change their gender generally change their name, but do not get to change their birth certificate. They may be ineligible for Real ID licenses, which require the driver's license name and the B.C. name to be identical.

Perhaps you're not sympathetic to these people. Well ...

First this law came after the illegal immigrants.

Then this laaw came after the transgenderists.

When they come after us, who'll be left to defend us?

I'm indebted for this fascinating info to an article at PrideSource, see immediately above. But let me just mention something: Had Real ID been debated in congress, its problems might have been aired before it was passed (or more likely, defeated AGAIN).

RealNightmare, a great site!

I recommend RealNightmare, a great web site that coordinates information about Real ID. They have links to what's happening in most states, state by state, see their site map. On the main page, their "at a galnce" statement says:

The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments – while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. As a result, it is stirring intense opposition from many groups across the political spectrum. This Web site provides information about opposing Real ID.

And they go on from there with lots of detail.

Real ID legislation needs a reality check

"Real ID legislation needs a reality check" is the title of an article in The Roanoke Times. Here's how it begins:

States say meeting the new identification requirements will be an expensive nightmare. Congress should listen to those concerns.

The article relies upon a Virgina task force:

A Virginia task force led by Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner D.B. Smit issued a report calling on Congress to extend the deadline, modify some of the law's more stringent requirements and help the states pay for the expensive changes.

The task force report warns that many of the state's poor, elderly or disabled residents may not be able to produce the necessary documents, leaving them without the identity cards that are "critical to everyone's way of life."

The report also estimates that compliance will cost Virginia as much as $169 million in startup costs and as much as $63 million in annual operating expenses.

And here's how the article ends:

Foisting "impossible and unrealistic" -- and unfunded -- mandates on the states will do nothing to enhance security. Congress should take another look at the Real ID legislation to ensure that it is not only "real," but also realistic.

Congress:

WAKE UP!

Technical Challenges to building Real ID:

Here's an AP article that lists very difficult challenges in building the Real ID system:

• States will have to consult multiple databases to check the accuracy of documents, and figure ou how to retain them for at least seven years.
• "States will have to network their records systems and tap into national databases in order to share driving histories, track duplicate or fraudulent applications and ensure that licenses expire when legal immigration status expires."
• No more nicknames! Licenses and cards and databases must be redone to handle up to 125 character names.
• These interlinked databases will have to use identical names when they reference the same people.

The changes will force states to "incur expenses from renegotiating or changing contracts with outside vendors."

I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

Little Requirement, big cost:

A ACLU article includes this little gem:

Many requirements that a layman might think are simple are considered quite complicated and expensive by the experts. For example, of those states that don’t already require the use of a full legal name on licenses, 70 percent reported that it would require “major reprogramming, training, legislation/major costs.”

I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

Real ID is impossible?

A story by Ryan Paul at Ars Technica, a computer-techy PC-oriened website, takes an informed and negative view of Real ID:

Condemned as a wasteful and self-defeating piece of reactionary legislation, critics argue that the Real ID Act will make it easier for criminals to perpetrate identity theft while actively degrading national security rather than improving it. The burden of implementation has been placed entirely on state government agencies as a dreaded "unfunded mandate," none of which have the resources or personel required to fulfill the requirements of the ill-concieved law.

...

Described by an Illinois official as "a nightmare for all states," the Real ID Act presents a number of extreme logistical and technological challenges. Deputy secratary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Betty Serian, remarks that:

"It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008."

...

It is clear that Congress vastly overestimated the technological capabilities of state government agencies. Most of the technical problems relate to the extensive use of legacy systems that can't adequately interface with other remote systems. The Associated Press article includes a selection of some of the barriers preventing states from meeting the deadline, but this one is by far my favorite:

Some states' ancient computing systems will have to be overhauled in order to link to other networks. Minnesota runs a 1980s-era mainframe system; Rhode Island says its "circa 1979" COBOL-based network will require a $20 million upgrade.

The article mentions that real ID is "Opposed by more than 600 independent organizations (including the National Governors Association)."


I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

Ohio expects increased wait times, higher cost:

Reality sinks in at Ohio:

By 2008, however, short lines and no-hassle service may seem as quaint as government buildings without metal detectors or as hard to find as curbside parking at airports.

New federal homeland-security requirements are virtually certain to eliminate same-day driver’s licensing in Ohio and could increase wait times and the cost of getting or renewing a license.

The Ohio bureau, which prides itself on 90 percent customer-satisfaction rates and wait times of usually less than 30 minutes, said the changes could be bracing to drivers accustomed to getting new licenses on their lunch breaks for about $25.

I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

Reality Starts to Sink In (1): Millions & Millions

A Vermont story in Times Argus by Louis Porter reports that the potential cost of real ID is sinking in.

A survey of motor vehicle officials nationwide about the Real ID Act found that the law could cost millions and hamper states' licensing efforts. The same could be true in Vermont, said Howard Deal, the state DMV's deputy commissioner. "It's not unique to Vermont," he said. "It is a nationwide problem."

The article quotes Allen Gilbert, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont:

"Real ID not only means a national ID, but will likely mean higher taxes and fees, longer lines, repeat visits to the Vermont DMV, bureaucratic snafus, and, for a lot of people, the inability to obtain a license," he said. "To top it off, it will do little if anything to prevent terrorism."

Then they get to the subject of the missing requirements:

For starters, the databases of documents required to implement the program's requirements do not in many cases exist yet, Deal said. And, although the law was passed last spring, the rules governing specifically how it will be implemented may not be completed for some time, he said.

"We are still waiting for the rules," said Deal.

Those rules, needed to craft the databases, procedures and communication links to enact the program, may not be completed until 2007, even though the program is supposed to go into effect in May 2008.

...

Those requirements may also undo DMV's efforts in recent years to shorten wait times and lines at service counters, Deal said.

"We have significantly cut down wait lines at counters," he said.

If the program goes into effect as it is now set up, he said, "when an individual comes into our office to get their license or ID card, they aren't going to leave with it the same day."

I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center on Real ID:

The Electronic Privacy Information Center is an excellent resource for many privacy issues. Here's their page on Real ID. (I'm sorry to say that they do not list this blog as a resource. Yet.)

I've published this entry with the intent of bringing more useful information to all of you, and I've tried to choose my words carefully in order not to annoy or offend anyone. There, that ought to do it.

Real ID: A top legislative issue in 2006!

I'm seeing more news stories about "NCSL's 2006 Top Ten Legislative Issues Forecast", which includes Real ID in its list. this probably will be THE year in which the states decide whether to rebel against Real ID.

It would really help if the Department of Home Security would finish defining Real ID, as required by the law. Then eveyone would have a moderately fixed target to rail against.

Real ID: A top legislative issue in 2006?

U.S. newswire, in an article listing "NCSL's 2006 Top Ten Legislative Issues Forecast", includes Real ID in its list. They point out that "Many states have not been in session since the passage of the federal Real ID Act, which aims to standardize driver's licenses and the process of administering them."
Perhaps that helps to explain the lack of outcry about this unfunded mandate...

Virginia's Task Force wants more time:

A thoughtful committee, Virginia's Real ID Task Force, will soon be making recommendations to governor Warner about implementing Real ID. The committee is expected to ask for two more years, saying that the remaining time is too short for projects of such complexity. Quoting from a Potomoac News item by Daniel Gilbert:

Pam Goheen, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, said the estimate was based on the experience of developing projects of comparable length and cost. She cited the social security online verification that was first made available in the late 1990s. There are still jurisdictions that are not online, Goheen said.