(Maine) Greens commit to Real ID veto drive

On Maine Politics
Statehouse reporter Susan Cover

Greens commit to Real ID veto drive

The Maine Green Independent Party, fresh off its convention in Yarmouth last weekend, said it will play an active role in collecting signatures for two petition drives.

One is a people’s veto effort to repeal the law that brings Maine into compliance with the Real ID federal regulations, and the other is the ongoing effort to repeal the school district consolidation law.

(Maine) Real ID ban vetoed, tweaked

Real ID ban vetoed, tweaked

Gov. Tim Pawlenty killed a bill to bar national identity card rules, but issued a conciliatory executive order.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill on Friday that would have blocked Minnesota's participation in a federal program setting nationwide standards for state identification cards.

But on Saturday, he issued an executive order that would prevent full state compliance with the federal Real ID program before June 1, 2009, unless the Legislature approves.

Combined, the moves appear to be an attempt at compromise over an issue that has united liberal and conservative legislators in opposition to what critics call a national identification system and a threat to privacy and civil liberties.

A bill prohibiting Minnesota's compliance with the Real ID requirement passed last week by overwhelming veto-proof margins in both the House and the Senate.

Real ID emerged from the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as an effort to prevent falsification of identities by terrorists or other criminals.

Opponents of the ban on state compliance argued the measure would also prevent Minnesota from moving on its own accord to improve the security of state identification documents. Advocates insisted the state could continue to act so long as it did not agree to share information with a federal system or otherwise conform to federal directives. They also have objected that the required conversion is an unfunded mandate.

Pawlenty said his veto and executive order would together address both the concerns of Real ID critics and the need for the state to enhance security.

"Throughout the debate over Real ID, I've made it clear I share many of the concerns raised regarding federal funding, privacy, state control and other issues," Pawlenty said in a statement. "Opponents have also raised important constitutional questions that should be considered.

The executive order, he added, "will give us an opportunity to work with our federal partners and state legislators to resolve the valid concerns regarding this program."

D.J. TICE

(Maine) New License Requirements Target Of Repeal Effort

New License Requirements
Target Of Repeal Effort
Web Editor: Chris Rose, Reporter

PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) - Representatives of several organizations, including the Maine Civil Liberties Union and Common Cause, announced Friday that they're mounting an effort to repeal new requirements for obtaining a Maine driver's license.

The changes were passed by the legislature to meet new federal guidelines. Opponents of those new requirements gathered outside the U.S. District Court in Portland Friday.

They say they are now in the process of gathering the 55,000 signatures needed to put a repeal question on the November ballot.

They oppose changes in Maine that now require people to prove they a legal citizens of the United States before they can obtain a license. They say it's the first step towards the Federal Government's Real ID that will require all citizens to provide private information about themselves.

"We're here at the federal court building because of a federal unfunded mandate, that not only is an unfunded mandate, but is also an infringement on our civil, our private and our state's rights here in Maine and we believe it's time to draw the line here and say no," said petition organizer Kathleen Mcgee.

The repeal effort must have the signatures verified and turned into the Secretary of State's office by July 17th.

Four groups challenge new Maine law

Maine election officials said yesterday that they have accepted applications from four groups that are challenging a pair of recently enacted laws, but the four groups could morph into two as the campaigns develop.

A group calling itself the Fed Up With Taxes coalition is leading a people's veto proposal seeking to repeal new taxes to bolster the Dirigo Health program. They include tax increases on beer, wine, soda, and other soft drinks and a 1.8 percent surcharge on paid insurance claims.

A second proposal is broader and seeks to repeal the entire law revamping the state-run Dirigo program. The law includes market and finance reforms as well as the tax increases.

The other legislation targeted by people's veto campaigns bolsters Maine driver's license requirements to bring the state into closer compliance with the federal Real ID law. Among other things, the law requires that license applicants be in the country legally.

The twin challenges of each of the bills raise questions as to whether efforts to derail the respective laws will be combined. There was no clear answer yesterday, but some of the leaders were open to the idea.

"We are an open coalition, and anyone who wants to lend their support, we welcome them," said Newell Augur, leader of the Fed Up With Taxes group.

Stop Taxing ME, the group that wants to repeal the entire Dirigo reform law, is open to joining forces with the other campaign, said spokesman Aaron Sterling.

The Stop Taxing ME group submitted a proposal to repeal the whole law because it was not clear on whether a people's veto effort can target just part of a law, Sterling said. But it is clearly the tax increases his group is targeting, he said.

Sterling said Stop Taxing ME will proceed independently for now "because we haven't been approached by anyone else to team up," but added, "We certainly would welcome that."

Donna Bendiksen of Portland, a candidate for the Legislature and leader of one of the efforts to repeal the driver's license law, had similar sentiments, saying, "We welcome all the help we can get."

The leader of the other effort, Kathleen McGee of Bowdoinham, said her group's intention is to combine forces in what she called a nonpartisan effort that has backing from all over the political spectrum.

"Yes, absolutely, we will be working together," McGee said.

Bendiksen believes the law, which was passed under pressure from the federal Department of Homeland Security, will compromise privacy protections and discriminate against immigrants who are in the country legally.

"The Real ID law is not going to help. It's just going to make it harder to get a job, to keep a job, and to travel," she said.

With the four campaigns' applications complete, officials will review them. "Barring any problems, the Bureau of Elections will soon provide the applicants with petition forms, so they can begin the work of gathering signatures from people who support their veto efforts," Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said.

Once petition forms are provided to proponents, they will have until 5 p.m. on July 17 to submit at least 55,087 signatures in order to have their veto question appear on the ballot in November.

The Dirigo Health and driver's license laws have their defenders, most notably Governor John Baldacci, who supported both bills before signing them last month.

The Maine Democratic Party, acknowledging the people's veto efforts aimed at Dirigo, issued a statement Tuesday saying Dirigo has saved Mainers $110 million in healthcare costs.

"Any effort to repeal recent funding legislation would seriously threaten what has been a critical safety net for individuals, families, and small businesses that otherwise would likely not be able to afford insurance at all," the statement said.

Real ID documents show how stressful situation got

Real ID documents show
how stressful situation got

May 2, 2008

AUGUSTA — State officials were frustrated with the federal government as a deadline closed in for Maine to accept Homeland Security Department demands to tighten its driver's license standards, according to documents released following a Freedom of Access request.

The 14-inch stack of documents details behind-the-scenes actions by Gov. John Baldacci's office and other state officials in the form of e-mails, handwritten notes, proposed and finished press releases and copies of news stories about Real ID. Additional documents were being collected.

The papers also include government documents outlining the Real ID license-security law, reviews of draft legislation to change Maine's licensing standards and talking points provided for top state officials to emphasize certain information to the public.

The documents were requested by news organizations including The Associated Press around the time of a March 31 deadline for states to show they were making progress toward compliance with Real ID or face prospects of not having their licenses and IDs accepted for federal identification purposes.

That would have meant state licenses would not be acceptable for boarding planes or getting into federal buildings. Baldacci had made it clear that he did not want Mainers inconvenienced, so Maine like other states sought an extension for compliance. It wouldn't come easily.

Meetings were held, e-mails flew back and forth and letters began ping-ponging between Baldacci and Homeland Security offices. Montana, then in a similar spot as Maine, wrote Baldacci asking for his state's support in resisting the Real ID law.

Documents also include single-paragraph letters from some states, including Arkansas and South Carolina, requesting extensions. The fact that they were granted with comparatively little ado rankled some Maine officials.

E-mails from the public about Real ID poured into the governor's office, which counted 15,727 of them by Feb. 22, the documents show.

A letter to request an extension was drafted. A legal counsel in Baldacci's office, Karla Black, called one draft she reviewed "waaaaay too wordy."

A division between Baldacci and Maine's top motor vehicles official, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, became evident as Dunlap warned of the program's potential costs in dollars and personal freedoms.

"This has been a very, very tough ride," Dunlap said in a March 24 e-mail. "In our analysis, we've watched the license mission creep move against the Constitution to the point where our license to drive has become a license to travel."

Baldacci's request for an extension in a March 25 letter was rejected in a return letter from Homeland Security, undated and signed by Stewart Baker, the department's assistant secretary for policy.

A follow-up letter was hastily drafted, spurring a flurry of internal written exchanges. Dunlap sarcastically expressed hope for approval in a March 29 e-mail to Baldacci staffers: "Hopefully Baker didn't stub his toe getting up this morning and is in a good mood."

In a single-paragraph letter to Baldacci signed by Baker, Homeland Security granted Maine an extension.

Baldacci's letter of commitment triggered preparation of a bill to require Maine license holders to show they are legal residents of the United States and meet other federal demands.

After fast-track deliberation that included drafts and redrafts of bills that were among the requested documents, lawmakers enacted a measure that was signed by Baldacci April 17. It also requires that state credentials issued to non-citizens who live in the United States legally expire at the same time as the applicant's authorized duration of stay.

Passage of the bill ended what one staff e-mail described as "a stressful time."

Homeland Security bypasses Maine in granting Real ID extensions

Homeland Security bypasses
Maine in granting Real ID extensions
By Chris Strohm CongressDaily April 1, 2008

The Homeland Security Department late Monday averted a showdown with South Carolina over a controversial driver's license law, while Maine faced the prospect of becoming the only state in the country whose residents will soon not be able to enter federal buildings or board airplanes using their licenses.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that South Carolina would be granted an extension to meet the requirements of the so-called Real ID law -- even though the state did not request an extension and has no plans to comply with the law.

Monday was the cutoff for states to request waivers from a May 11 deadline to come into compliance with Real ID. South Carolina and Maine were the only two states that had not been granted waivers.

As the day wore on, it appeared increasingly likely Maine would not be given a waiver, mainly because it does not require proof that an individual is a legal resident before granting a driver's license.

But late Monday, a spokesman for Maine's Democratic Gov. John Baldacci announced that Homeland Security would give the state two more days to explain what it will do to have more secure driver's licenses.

The spokesman said the two-day extension does not guarantee that Maine ultimately will be given a waiver.

The Real ID law requires states to verify a person's identity and citizenship before issuing a secure driver's license or identification document.

Without a waiver, Maine residents would not be able to use their licenses for federal purposes, such as boarding planes or entering federal buildings, beginning May 11.

"Secretary Chertoff should never have threatened the people of Maine and other states with burdensome restrictions on their access to board planes and enter federal facilities as of May 11," Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, said Monday before announcement of the two-day extension.

States that received a waiver have until December 2009 to begin moving toward compliance with the law. By 2014, states must issue Real ID-compliant cards, except for people older than 50. By 2017, states must issue Real ID-compliant cards to all residents.

South Carolina's Republican Gov. Mark Sanford sent Chertoff a letter Monday criticizing Real ID. Sanford listed many steps the state is taking to improve the security of its driver's licenses, saying it is meeting "more than 90 percent" of the Real ID requirements.

But Sanford said the state legislature had passed legislation preventing the state from complying with Real ID.

Chertoff responded hours later, saying Homeland Security was treating Sanford's letter as a request for a time extension and, based on all the actions taken by the state, granting a waiver.

Maine's governor sent Chertoff a similar letter March 25, saying his state has met 10 of 18 benchmarks for Real ID. But the Maine legislature passed a law prohibiting the state from complying with the law.

Late Monday afternoon, Homeland Security was ready to inform Maine that it would not be given a waiver.

But Gov. Baldacci's spokesman said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, kept negotiations alive between Homeland Security and state officials Monday, including by having a direct conversation with Chertoff.

Collins' effort to resolve the standoff for her home state also may help defuse Real ID as an issue in her re-election campaign. Collins and Allen, her challenger in November, voted to approve an emergency war funding bill in 2005 that included Real ID.

Since then, Allen has been trying to repeal the law. "Secretary Chertoff and the department have been stubbornly heavy-handed in attempting to intimidate states to comply with what their own decision to delay implementation for another decade clearly reveals is a bad law," he said.

Allen and Collins both penned editorials in Sunday's Kennebec Journal, with Collins calling Real ID flawed but not entirely unworkable.

"Real ID still imposes an enormous unfunded mandate on states costing billions of dollars and raises privacy concerns that have yet to be fully addressed," she wrote. "Congress needs to resolve these funding and privacy issues during the extension period."