Panel gets earful on feds’ ID law

Panel gets earful on feds’ ID law
Driver’s license rules for states criticized
ANDREW M. SEDER aseder@timesleader.com
May 9, 2008

SCRANTON – A controversial federal law requiring states to change the way they issue driver’s licenses was the center of attention at Thursday’s contentious state House committee public hearing.

More than 40 people, including some Amish from Lancaster County, attended the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee hearing regarding the Real ID Act that Congress passed and the president approved in 2005. It came about as part of the 9/11 Commission Report that recommended federal standards for state-issued driver’s licenses as a safety measure against terrorism.

The three of the 29 committee members who showed up said they wanted feedback about the law. When they left three hours later, they were far from disappointed.

No one from the public spoke in favor of the law, and those who spoke urged representatives to reject the law or Congress to repeal it. The law orders states to meet a national standard for driver’s licenses, including verifying birth certificates, Social Security numbers or passports presented as identification to obtain licenses.

States must link their record-keeping systems together – a requirement that has drawn the most ire from critics.

George Dietrich of Newport Township said hackers can get into any system and called a central database for all states an identity thief’s dream.

“You don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and that’s what this is doing,” Dietrich said.

Andy Hoover of the American Civil Liberties Union called the law “a real nightmare. It’s a massive invasion of the privacy of all Pennsylvanians and will do nothing to increase security, while costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Some spoke of the “unconstitutionality” of the act and claimed it violated the Fourth Amendment. They said the states were not created to be dictated to by a central government, but to be led by a representative one.

“I’m tired of this stuff,” said Ralph Johns of Paradise, Lancaster County. “I think we ought to tell the federal government, ‘Thank you, but keep out of the sovereign Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.’ ”

Molly Ramsdell, a senior committee director with the National Conference of State Legislatures, said lawsuits are likely.

Some chided the federal government for passing laws without ironing out the costs and how states will pay for the program’s implementations. Cost estimates for the program, according to the Department of Homeland Security, are $3.9 billion. Ramsdell said Congress appropriated $90 million for state implementations. In Pennsylvania alone, it would cost about $85 million to comply.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, which relays state government interests in Washington, D.C., has called on Congress to repeal the act and reinstitute a negotiated rulemaking process “that brings all parties to the table,” Ramsdell said.

Unless Congress repeals the law, most states have until the end of 2009 to comply. Not doing so would result in residents in states without an approved federal identification program, who did not have a passport or other federally approved form of identification, being denied access to federal buildings, parks, nuclear plants and commercial airplanes.

To date, eight state Legislatures have voted to refuse implementing the act, including Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Idaho, Georgia, South Carolina, Washington and Montana.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks County, who sponsored House Bill 1351, which would reject state compliance with the law unless certain benchmarks are met, attended the hearing and voiced his concerns about privacy and funding. “The federal government has no authority to demand, command, mandate or otherwise tell states what they must or cannot do,” Rohrer said.

Committee Minority Chairman David J. Steil, R-Bucks County, said he has not decided whether to support urging a repeal of the law but is concerned about the privacy issues and the protection of the data.

Some of those gathered wore shirts or stickers, or carried signs, urging a repeal of the law. Others, like Gary David, who would only say he lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania, sat in the front row clutching a book about the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.

Real ID Act
Harrisburg to D.C.:
The law was set to take effect Sunday but has been extended by the federal government to at least 2009. It requires states to meet a national standard for driver’s licenses, including verifying birth certificates, Social Security numbers or passports presented as identification to obtain licenses. States must link their record-keeping systems together.

State House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee Majority Chairman Curtis Thomas, D-Philadelphia, urged people unhappy with the Real ID Act of 2005 to contact their representatives in Washington to ask for their support a repealing the law. Senate Bill 717, which was introduced in February, proposes fixing several shortcomings of the law. It has six sponsors and is currently in a Governmental Affairs subcommittee.