Intellectual Property Law

California's powerful congressional delegation needs to go back to Congress to reconsider the Real ID Act that requires states to issue driver's licenses that meet federal standards, according to the head of the California Assembly's Transportation Committee.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-35) introduced a non-binding resolution to that effect Monday afternoon in response to concerns about privacy, security and the high price of the federal mandate -- which the government's most recent estimate pegs at $4 billion nationally. The feds are only ponying up a token amount of money, but say states can dip into their federal homeland security grants to help pay down the bill.

Howard Posner, a policy consultant to the Transportation Committee, said that last year the committee contemplated moving legislation to accept Real ID, but reconsidered after "looking at the cost, and the incredible inconvenience for driver's license holder and the privacy issues."

"We heard the feds had enacted this without any kind of review process or holding hearings," Posner said. "We thought someone ought to step back and see if this is the most cost effective way to secure driver's licenses."

When asked who the resolution's allies were, Posner named three groups  -- the ACLU, AARP, and the conservative group Eagle Forum.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) added the the Real ID mandate to a must-pass defense spending bill in 2005, leaving the details to be determined by the Department of Homeland Security. After much delay, the final regulations were issued in February of 2008.

The resolution, which needs to go through a set of committees in both of California's legislative bodies before coming to a floor vote, would tentatively join California to a group of 17 states that have expressed opposition to the unfunded mandate.

Three states have outright rejected Real ID, setting up a showdown on May 11, when the federal government says it will not allow residents of Montana, Maine, South Carolina and New Hampshire to use their state I.D. cards for federal purposes.

That means that residents of those states will not be able to use their driver's licenses to board planes (they'll have to get pat-downs), and will be barred from federal courthouses or Social Security Administration buildings unless they have a passport.

California's resolution doesn't go nearly that far, since the state has already gotten the extension, but still might boost the anti-Real ID movement given the state's size, clout and dire finances.

If passed, the California resolution (.pdf), known as AJR 51, does not need the signature of California's Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to go into effect.

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• DMV Gets Educated on Real ID by Homeland Security Industrial Complex
• Homeland Security Improves Privacy, DHS Chief Blogs
• Senate Looks into REAL ID