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Subject: New ID Rules May Complicate Air Travel.
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New ID Rules May Complicate Air Travel
Jan 11, 6:19 PM (ET)
By DEVLIN BARRETT
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080111/D8U3VK8O0.html
(AP) Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
speaks at a news conference on REAL ID at the
National...
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Millions of air travelers may find
going through airport security much more complicated
this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a
showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11
rules for new driver's licenses.
By May, the dispute could leave millions of people
unable to use their licenses to board planes, but
privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by
federal officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was
unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on
Friday, said that if states want their licenses to
remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those
states must seek a waiver indicating they want more
time to comply with the legislation.
Chertoff said that for any state which doesn't seek
such a waiver by May, residents of that state will
have to use a passport or certain types of federal
border-crossing cards if they want to avoid a vigorous
secondary screening at airport security.
(AP) A woman has her photo taken by an unidentified
DMV technician at the California Department of
Motor...
Full Image
"The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a
state who would love to have a REAL ID license but
can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the
rule is the rule as passed by Congress."
The plan's chief critic, the American Civil Liberties
Union, called Chertoff's deadline a bluff - and urged
state governments to call him on it.
"Are they really prepared to shut those airports down?
Which is what effectively would happen if the
residents of those states are going to have to go
through secondary scrutiny," said Barry Steinhardt,
director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program.
"This is a scare tactic."
So far, 17 states have passed legislation or
resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions,
many due to concerns it will cost them too much to
comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas,
Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and
Washington.
Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their
own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver.
(AP) Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
speaks at a news conference on REAL ID at the
National...
Full Image
"It certainly seems to be an effort by the federal
government to create compliance with REAL ID whether
states have an interest in doing so or not," said Don
Cookson, spokesman for the Maine secretary of state's
office.
The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the
changes: The hijacker-pilot who flew into the
Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and
ID cards from three states.
The Homeland Security Department and other officials
say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check
it against secure government data; critics such as the
ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to
be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
Congress passed the REAL ID law in 2005, but the
effort has been delayed by opposition from states
worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset
about what they believe are invasions of privacy.
Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after
Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's
licenses in the next six years, over which time the
new requirements would gradually be phased in.
A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal
authorities hope all states will be in compliance, and
the regulations would not take full effect for all
Americans until 2017.
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious
states, federal authorities drastically reduced the
expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73
percent decline, said Homeland Security officials
familiar with the plan.
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter
a federal building would have to present a REAL
ID-compliant card, with the notable exception of those
older than 50, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more
time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say
the risk of someone in that age group being a
terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much
less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL
ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Among other details of the REAL ID plan:
_The traditional driver's license photograph would be
taken at the beginning of the application instead of
the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to
prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo
would be kept on file and checked if that person tried
to con the system again.
_The cards will have three layers of security measures
but will not contain microchips as some had expected.
States will be able to choose from a menu which
security measures they will put in their cards.
_After Social Security and immigration status checks
become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on
to more expansive security checks. State DMV offices
would be required to verify birth certificates; check
with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have
more than one license; and check with the State
Department to verify applicants who use passports to
get a driver's license.
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