Reject Real ID
SB 492, introduced by Senator Emmett Hanger, is being heard tomorrow, February 7, at 2 p.m. in the Senate Committee on Transportation. We have sent out earlier alerts about SB 492; however, in previous weeks the bill was passed by for the day in the committee hearing. We expect it to be heard tomorrow because this is the last Senate Transportation committee meeting before cross-over (February 13, 2008).
While ACLU of Virginia is unclear about the first part of the bill, we emphatically support the second part of the bill that rejects Real ID as an unfunded mandate. The bill states:
"That the Department of Health's Office of Vital Records, along with the Department of Motor Vehicles and other appropriate state and local agencies, shall develop and implement a plan to provide Virginia Resident verification, as an alternative to the requirements of the federal Real ID Act of 2005, P.L. 109-13. Virginia shall not comply with the unfunded mandates of the Real ID Act."
A persistent criticism of the Real ID Act since its enactment in 2005 has been the charge that the law is a massive unfunded mandate that also intrudes on privacy rights by creating a national data base of government approved IDs. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially estimated that nationwide implementation would cost over $23 billion, roughly in line with estimates from independent groups like the National Governors Association and National Conference of State Legislators.
Please voice your opposition to Real ID in Virginia to members of the committee. Click on the Senator's name for their contact information.
Senate Transportation: Miller, Y.B. (Chair), Houck, Marsh, Newman, Watkins, Puckett, Wagner, Blevins, Deeds, McDougle, Ticer, Cuccinelli, Petersen, Smith, Miller, J.C.
To learn more about Real ID, go to:
http://www.realnightmare.org/
Please contact me with any questions/comments. Thank you for your hard work!
Hope R. Amezquita, Legislative Counsel
lobby@acluva.org
804-644-8080
American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia
530 E. Main Street, Suite 310
Richmond, Virginia 23219