[Infowarrior] - US government cools on Real ID threats

[Richard Forno]

US government cools on Real ID threats
That's Uncle Sam in the corner
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco → More by this author
Published Tuesday 25th March 2008 00:30 GMT
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/25/real_id_revolt/

As a showdown shapes up over federally mandated requirements for
state-issued IDs, the US government is signaling it may be ready to
compromise.

States have until next Monday to ask that the deadline for complying with
the Real ID Act be extended to 2010. The Feds have threatened that a failure
to meet the deadline will result in citizens of pesky, non-compliant states
being turned away or forced to endure additional screening when trying to
board airplanes or access federal buildings or military facilities starting
in May. Even with such threats, however, some states are balking at
committing to the increased security measures, which, among many other
things, require DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) offices to check with
other states to ensure applicants don't have more than one license.

Last week, two holdout states, California and Montana, received extensions
even though both states refused to commit to follow the plan. Previously,
the US Department of Homeland Security said the extension would be given
only to states that explicitly pledged to comply with the law.

Last Tuesday, the head of the California Department of Motor Vehicles wrote
that his state's request for an extension "is not a commitment to implement
Real ID, [but] rather it will allow us to fully evaluate the impact of the
final regulations and precede with necessary policy deliberations prior to a
final decision on compliance," according to Wired News.

Officials from Montana have gone one step further, refusing to apply for an
extension and insisting they will not follow the law. Critics object to the
Real ID requirements for a host of reasons. They say requirements that
states link their databases jeopardizes individuals' privacy. They also say
it costs too much and unfairly interferes with states' rights.

The decision by Homeland Security officials to grant the extensions anyway
may signal a tacit concession that its hard line approach isn't working.
Requiring citizens of California, the nation's most populous state, to
undergo additional airport screening would have put additional pressures on
the Transportation Security Administration, an agency that is already viewed
by many as overextended.

One can only imagine the outcry at airports if Californians were forced to
endure a unique set of bizarre screening rituals.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer told The Associated Press that federal
officials had "painted themselves in a corner."

Remaining holdout states include Maine and South Carolina, which have not
sought extensions, and New Hampshire, which passed a law last year making it
illegal to comply. On Monday, South Carolina's attorney general held out the
possibility of suing the federal government over the requirements but said
it would be premature to do so now.

The Real ID act was passed four years after the 9/11 attacks and was billed
as a way of making it harder for terrorists and immigrants to illegally stay
in this country. It calls for new regulations to be phased in over the next
decade. By 2014, the federally compliant IDs would be required to board a
plane or enter federally controlled premises except for people over 50. By
2017, people over 50 would also have to present a license that meets the
requirements. ®