National ID Law a Nightmare for States

[Guest guest]

http://news./s/ap/20060113/ap_on_re_us/real_id_5

" In many respects it's a statute that ignores reality. "

An anti-terrorism law creating a national standard for all driver's

licenses by 2008 isn't just upsetting civil libertarians and

immigration rights activists.

State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out

the Real ID Act say its authors grossly underestimated its logistical,

technological and financial demands.

In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in

follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states' ability to

comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.

" It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the

prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008, " Betty Serian, a deputy

secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said in an

interview.

Nebraska's motor vehicles director, responding to the survey by the

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, said that to

comply with Real ID her state " may have to consider extreme measures

and possibly a complete reorganization. "

And a new record-sharing provision of Real ID was described by an

Illinois official as " a nightmare for all states. "

" Can we go home now?? " the official wrote.

States use a hodgepodge of systems and standards in granting driver's

licenses and identification cards. In some places, a high school

yearbook may be enough to prove identity.

A major goal of Real ID — which was motivated by the Sept. 11 attacks,

whose perpetrators had legitimate driver's licenses — is to unify the

disparate licensing rules and make it harder to fraudulently obtain a

card.

The law also demands that states link their record-keeping systems to

national databases so duplicate applications can be detected, illegal

immigrants caught and driving histories shared.

State licenses that fail to meet Real ID's standards will not be able

to be used to board an airplane or enter a federal building.

The law, which was attached to a funding measure for the

Iraq war last May, has been criticized by civil libertarians who

contend it will create a de facto national ID card and new centralized

databases, inhibiting privacy.

State organizations such as the National Governors Association have

blasted the law as well. Many states will have to amend laws in order

to comply.

Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Real ID's principal backer,

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said

there is no chance states might win a delay of the 2008 deadline.

" We gave three years for this process, " he said. " Every day that we

continue to have security loopholes, we're at greater risk. "

The August survey by the motor vehicle administrators' group, which

has not been made public, asked licensing officials nationwide for

detailed reports on what it will take to meet Real ID's demands.

It was not meant to produce an overall estimate of the cost of

complying with Real ID. But detailed estimates produced by a few

states indicate the price will blow past a February 2005 analysis by the

Congressional Budget Office, which estimated Congress would need to

spend $100 million reimbursing states.

Pennsylvania alone estimated a hit of up to $85 million. Washington

state projected at least $46 million annually in the first several years.

Separately, a December report to Virginia's governor pegged the

potential price tag for that state as high as $169 million, with $63

million annually in successive years. Of the initial cost, $33 million

would be just to redesign computing systems.

It remains unclear how much funding will come from the federal

government and how much the states will shoulder by raising fees on

driver's licenses.

" If you begin to look at the full ramifications of this, we are

talking about billions and billions of dollars. Congress simply passed

an unfunded mandate, " said Barry Steinhardt, director of the

technology and liberty project at the

American Civil Liberties Union. " Every motorist in America is going to

pay the price of this, of the Congress' failure to do a serious

exploration of the cost, the complexity, of the difficulty. "

The survey respondents and officials interviewed by the AP noted that

many concerns might be resolved as the Department of

Homeland Security clarifies its expectations for the law — such as

whether existing licenses can be grandfathered in — before it takes

effect May 11, 2008.

As of now, however, it appears little has changed since the survey

described a multitude of hurdles.

Some examples:

• The law demands that states mine multiple databases to check the

accuracy of documents submitted by license applicants. Several states

questioned how that will work, especially with confirming birth

certificates. Iowa said it didn't think the states would be able to

make the required vital-records upgrades within three years.

• 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.

• Many states don't make drivers prove they are legally in the

country, but the law will now demand such documentation. It also calls

for states to run license applications through a federal database

known as SAVE that was launched by a 1986 law aimed at preventing

illegal immigrants from receiving federal benefits. One problem,

though, is that the " SAVE database is notoriously unreliable ...

months behind, " said South Carolina's response to the survey.

• After drivers submit documents to prove their identities, states

will have to retain paper copies of those documents for at least seven

years or digital images for 10 years. Some states fretted about the

storage costs; others worried about how to capture images of all those

files. Alabama's survey response called the project " massive, " saying

that while the state had the proper equipment at six licensing

centers, " we do not have the resources to equip all of our 79

offices. " Added Massachusetts: " This equipment is very expensive! "

• Real ID requires that a license show someone's principal residence.

But state officials object that a mailing address makes more sense for

many people — for " snowbirds " who spend time in two states, for

example or for public officials who want to protect their privacy.

" What should the procedure be for a person who lives in a RV? " asks

South Dakota's report.

• The law calls for a person's " full legal name, " no nickname or

abbreviations, on licenses. Cards have to be redesigned and databases

must be reprogrammed to make room for extremely long names, likely up

to 125 characters. That's not an easy process. By itself it accounts

for $4 million of North Dakota's $5.9 million estimated impact.

• Motor-vehicle employees will be subject to background checks, but

several officials said it was unclear what would disqualify someone

from being able to process licenses. land's response said waiting

for security clearances " could cause staffing shortage. "

• Real ID demands that all driver's licenses or ID cards have pictures

that can be read by facial-recognition technology. That would end many

states' practice of letting people with certain religious beliefs

request not to have a picture. Tennessee, meanwhile, allows anyone

older than 60 to get a " valid without photo " license.

" If you take any one of these things individually, you see a

significant problem, " Steinhardt said. " There are literally hundreds

of these problems embedded in Real ID, and the statute doesn't give

you a way out. It's black and white. No exceptions, no reality check.

" In many respects it's a statute that ignores reality. "

---------------------------------

Photos

Got holiday prints? See all the ways to get quality prints in your hands ASAP.