Border Trade Alliance

REAL ID

What Is It?

The REAL ID Act of 2005 was signed into law on May 11, 2005 as an attachment to the “Emergency Supplemental Appropriation for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005.” According to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) website, the REAL ID Act is “a nationwide effort intended to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of identification documents that State governments issue.”

Title II of REAL ID called, “Improved Security for Driver’s Licenses and Personal Identification Cards,” addresses new standards for driver’s licenses and how they can be obtained, citing that drivers licenses will be subject to federal minimum standards for issuance and use. Up until the passage of REAL ID, the states had been solely in charge of issuing drivers licenses and identification cards, as well as setting the requirements for what is contained on the document, requirements to obtain the document, and how the databases for document holders are maintained. Title II contains the following provisions: Repeal of 9/11 Commission Implementation Act DL/ID Provisions, Minimum Standards for Federal Use, DL/ID Document Standards, Minimum DL/ID Issuance Standards, Verification of Documents, Immigration Requirements, Security and Fraud Prevention Standards, Data Retention and Storage, Linking of Databases, Grants to States and Authority. A description of each provision can be found at: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/realidsummary05.htm.

Requirements

At a minimum, the card must contain a person’s full legal name, date of birth, gender, driver’s license or ID number, digital photograph, address of legal residence, signature, physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication, and a common machine-readable technology with defined data elements. REAL ID is scheduled to go into effect on December 31, 2009. Non-compliance with the provisions of REAL ID will affect your ability to enter federal buildings, board a plane, get a job and open a bank account. Additionally, states are required to link their motor vehicle databases to all other states. A state database must contain at a minimum all of the information on the driver’s license or identification card, as well as drivers’ histories. Any state that does not comply with the linking database requirements will lose its federal funding.

Implications

Although the REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed overwhelmingly in the House, and unanimously in the Senate, there is real controversy surrounding this legislation. Opponents say that enacting the REAL ID ACT is tantamount to a National ID system that is “invasive, un-American, costly and an invitation to identity theft.” Furthermore, opponents of REAL ID claim that it is a violation of state sovereignty, as well as an unfunded mandate that puts an unfair burden on states to come up with the money to implement REAL ID. DHS estimates that REAL ID will cost over $23 billion dollars to implement, and Congress has only appropriated $40 million dollars to help states meet the requirements of REAL ID. In December 0f 2007, DHS issued a press release explaining how the $40 million dollars will be allocated to assist the states in complying with the requirements of REAL ID. Two grant programs were announced. The REAL ID Demonstration Grant Program provides $31.3 million that will go towards helping states link motor vehicle databases with other states and verify against federal records, while protecting personal information. The REAL ID Vital Events Verification State Project Grant will provide $4 million to help states verify birth certificates and other vital records. The remaining $4 million will be used to expand the pilot program by allowing states to acquire technology that will verify identification documents.

Sixteen states and Washington, D.C. have already passed legislation opposing REAL ID, and twenty-one states have legislation pending that opposes REAL ID, or at least some of the provisions of REAL ID. However, some states have taken steps to comply with REAL ID. Recently, Arizona, which has legislation pending that opposes REAL ID, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DHS to move forward with an enhanced driver’s license (EDL) that will not only serve as a driver’s license, but will also verify citizenship for land and sea border crossing purposes under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), and will have the capability to be aligned to comply with REAL ID requirements in the future.
California, Alabama, North Dakota and North Carolina, among others, have also taken measures to comply with REAL ID.

The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) will continue to monitor the implementation of the REAL ID Act to help ensure that it does not adversely impact border communities, trade and travel. The BTA will also continue to support state led initiatives such as EDL pilot programs that collaborate with DHS to assist the public in complying with federal legislation and initiatives such as the REAL ID ACT and WHTI.

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