Monday, June 11, 2007

Real ID reaction

The Wisconsin State Journal does a little roundup on the four states that, so far, have told the federal government where to stick its Real ID regulations.

WASHINGTON -- Defying Uncle Sam, four states have passed laws refusing to comply with federal rules to make state-issued driver's licenses more secure, casting further doubt on the future of the 2005 Real ID Act.

Although it is rare for states to reject an act of Congress, New Hampshire and Oklahoma in May joined Montana and Washington state in passing statutes this year refusing to go along with Real ID. The refusals mean those states' driver's licenses eventually won't be accepted as official identification when boarding airplanes or entering federal buildings.

In addition, the Idaho Legislature purposely left out any money to comply with the act. The Georgia Legislature passed a law giving Gov. Sonny Perdue authority to ignore the measure, but he is hoping the federal government will make the act more affordable, said his spokesman, Bert Brantley. ...

States have rebelled at the $14 billion in costs the act imposes on states, as well as worries that the new security system will invade residents' privacy and create what amounts to a national ID card.

It's good to see the Real ID requirements become more controversial as time goes on--especially since they were snuck into law without debate as an addendum to an emergency spending bill. Overt defiance of federal law is an all-too-rare occurrence, so the resistance campaign is going to need all the encouragement we can muster.

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