A Federal effort to turn driver's licenses into a de facto national identity card is meeting stiff resistance in the state legislature. The Michigan House of Representatives has passed a resolution rejecting the Real ID Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005. Since the passage of this act, which critics say is a serious threat to privacy, 28 state legislatures have registered their disapproval of it.

The resolution makes several complaints. First, that the Real ID Act is an unfunded mandate:

Real ID is an unfunded mandate and the Department of Homeland Security estimates that the regulations will cost the states and consumers $23 billion to implement;

Second, that the act is a threat to the security of Michigan's information databases and thus to the privacy of Michigan citizens:

The REAL ID Act puts the Department of Homeland Security in charge of determining the as of yet published final rules that would mandate what information would be included on Michigan's driver's licenses, with whom the data must be shared, what biometrics may ultimately be used on the cards, and what encoding or other machine-readable technology may ultimately be required. Such action creates a precedent where different or additional rules could also be created again by the federal government in the future ...

The REAL ID Act would mandate that Michigan must link parts of its Secretary of State database to the departments of motor vehicles of all other states, in effect creating a single shared national database, while at the same time REAL ID sets no standards whatsoever on the security measures that states must use for gateway access to other states' databases, allows for nongovernmental third parties to administer such databases, and sets absolutely no limits on how nongovernmental entities will mandate use of the cards for goods, services, or other purposes ...

Third, that the Real ID Act was slipped in to a larger bill to insure its passage without significant debate or input from those affected:

The REAL ID Act of 2005, without benefit of Senate hearings or testimony, was abruptly attached as a rider to a must-pass military spending and tsunami relief bill (PL 109-13). Its passage effectively repealed the negotiated rulemaking process already under way as a result of the IRTP Act of 2004, replacing it with methodology designed to directly impose federal standards onto a state's wholly owned licenses under REAL ID.

The resolution also declares that the state legislature will not appropriate funds nor enact legislation to implement the Real ID Act. A similar resolution, SR 62, is pending in the state Senate. The ACLU of Michigan strongly supports such resolutions and opposes the Real ID Act, arguing that the act threatens Americans' privacy without improving security. Kary Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan, said:

"This is the beginning of the end for REAL ID in Michigan. We applaud the State House for recognizing that the REAL ID Act is a real nightmare for our privacy. The House has rejected this unfunded mandate that could lead to rampant identity theft and we urge our State Senators to follow suit and take a stand for privacy."

The group has put up a website, Realnightmare.org, to chart the success of efforts around the country to repeal the Real ID Act. If the Senate passes the resolution and Gov. Granholm signs it, Michigan would be the 18th state to reject the act completely and refuse to comply with it.

For the full article, see Ed Brayton, "Michigan State House Opposes National Identity Card", Michigan Messenger Blog, November 9, 2007.