Delegate decries Real ID

Del. Bob Marshall, R-13th District, has legislation before the Transportation Committee that would opt Virginia out of the federal Real ID Act.

Real ID was passed into law in 2005 as a security measure in the ongoing fight against terrorism. Some of its provisions called for states to comply with certain Homeland Security standards when issuing drivers’ licenses and identification cards, or else citizens might be denied access to airline flights and federal buildings.

In May 2008, the law went into effect, though all states received extensions for compliance. Part of the need for extension stemmed from costs; part from realization that not all the needed technology was available or proven functional. In the meantime, widespread concern emerged that Real ID was a backdoor attempt of the federal government to create a national identification card system. Real ID would require collection and submission of cardholders’ personal information into a federal database.

And added to all this now is the appointment of former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano as director of DHS, and questions about how her past criticisms of the program will affect its implementation.

“It holds your private information in a hostage situation,” said Marshall, outlining his reasons for opposing the federal law. “Real ID creates a national identity card. They just don’t call it that.”

Marshall’s HB 1587 was prefiled in September, but has yet to be placed on the committee’s docket for hearing. Several House members have signed their support, however.

As worded, it “authorize[s] the commonwealth’s lack of participation in the compliance of any provision of the Real ID Act.” It specifies that state agencies cannot collect biometric data like fingerprints, palm prints, facial feature patterns, iris recognition data, retinal scans or voice data for any purposes related to Real ID.

“Neither the governor nor the Department of Motor Vehicles nor any other agency of the commonwealth shall participate in the compliance of any provision of the Real ID Act of 2005 and any other federal law, regulation or policy that would compromise the economic privacy or biometric data of any resident of the commonwealth,” Marshall’s bill continues.

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-37th Distritct, a candidate for attorney general, has introduced a companion bill on the Senate side that is due for consideration by the General Laws and Technology Committee today. His SB 1431 forbids the commonwealth from complying with Real ID data-collecting provisions and, just like Marshall’s bill, “any other federal law, regulation or policy that would compromise the economic privacy, biometric data or biometric samples of any resident,” the text reads.

Cuccinelli also has a second bill related to Real ID that specifies the DMV cannot collect certain biometric data from drivers’ license applicants, or insert “any type of computer chip or radio-frequency identification tag or similar device” into the cards.
That bill, SB 841, is sitting in the Transportation Committee.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.