[IP] Ways to fight the REAL ID Act at the state level: some suggestions [priv]
Begin forwarded message:
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@xxxxxxxx>
Date: August 9, 2005 5:56:19 PM EDT
To: politech@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Politech] Ways to fight the REAL ID Act at the state level:
some suggestions [priv]
Previous Politech messages:
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/05/06/house-approves-real/
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/05/23/real-id-rebellion/
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/02/09/bush-admin-loves/
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: REAL ID Act opportunities
Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 16:48:54 -0500
From: James Moyer <james@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan@xxxxxxxx>
Declan,
It appears that there are some interesting trends regarding the REAL
ID Act.
State legislatures are hopping mad over the costs and complexities of
compliance, and I believe this presents opportunity.
Virginia has estimated its cost to comply at $237 million. Based on
that, I made further calculations (below) which conclude that the
cost per cardholder who actually needs a REAL ID compliant license is
much more than just having Virginia print "Not for Federal ID
purposes" on all their licenses, and telling those affected to get a
passport.
REAL ID Act compliance is not just expensive because of the framework
that needs to be implemented, but also the work involved per
licensee. It is likely some states will choose to issue two license
classes--one that meets REAL ID requirements (and will presumably be
more expensive and only issued from select DMV offices) and another
which will be cheaper, easier to obtain, and bear "Not for Federal ID
Purposes." (Already one state, Tennessee, issues two licenses, a
regular one, and a "Certificate for Driving" which says "Not for
Identification Purposes."--The CFD is a license for immigrants who
are either on short term visas or can't prove their legal residence
in the United States.)
In any case, the opportunity is there for activists to lobby their
state legislatures that REAL ID Act compliance need not be universal
or met at all. I am sure some states will split-comply (issuing a mix
of compliant and non-compliant licenses) and I think there's a great
chance of convincing other states to reject compliance entirely
(which Montana has preliminarily done, for political reasons.) The
faster this gets into legislators heads, the more likely it will occur.
A political shift in Congress, combined with the observation that
states are declining to comply with REAL ID Act requirements, may
provide for its deletion.
James
_______________
According to one article, Virginia estimates $237 million to comply
with the REAL ID Act. With a population of 7 million, you can assume
80% of Virginians have either a state ID or driver's license. (That's
5.6 million cards.)
That would break down to $43 for every Virginia ID card holder.
*However* let's say that 20% (a low estimate based on the
demographics) of Virginians already have a US passport, military ID
card, or other type of federal ID. These people do not need a
driver's license or state ID card to meet federal regulations, since
they already have a card which meets federal guidelines.
Now we're up to $53 for every Virginia ID card holder who does not
have another type of federal ID.
Of those 4.5 million Virginians, how many of them *really* need a
federal ID card? Who visits nuclear facilities? How many actually
need to go through other government facilities?
I suggest only 20-30% need federal ID, and that's because those are
frequent flyers. Non-frequent flyers (individuals who fly less than
twice a year) can endure the occasional hassle of showing up the
airport and being a high risk passenger (a selectee) which is the
consequence of having no ID. It's a common practice, and there is no
harm in it.
For those 25% of Virginians who really need a federal ID but don't
already have one (about 1.2 million people) the cost per person to
implement REAL ID is about $211.
Which is twice the cost of a US passport. There also seems to be
increasing interest in private "frequent traveller" ID cards, which
will likely be in most major US airports by 2008, and a lot cheaper
than passports.
I propose that states be told that the return on investment for REAL
ID compliance is ridiculous--and simply decline to comply.
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