Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's License

Congress May Require Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's License
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/politics/03licenses.html?ex=1272772800&en=aeac30ecc5b8d1a5&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

WASHINGTON, May 2 - Congress is moving quickly toward setting strict rules on how states issue driver's licenses, requiring them to verify whether each applicant for a new license or a renewal is in this country legally.

A House and Senate conference now taking place has included the requirements, which apply to all 50 states and other jurisdictions that issue licenses, in a supplemental appropriations bill for Iraq, aides involved in the process said on Monday. The draft legislation will be completed in the next few days and is all but certain to pass.

State officials complain that the new requirements will add a costly, complicated burden to the issuance of driver's licenses, which has been their responsibility for almost a century. Civil rights organizations and privacy advocates say that they are concerned that a standardized driver's license would amount to a national identification card and that a central database would be vulnerable to identify theft.

The proposed regulations, intended to deter terrorist attacks, would replace a provision of the intelligence bill passed in December that called on state and federal agencies to develop new rules for licenses. That law did not specifically require states to check the citizenship or immigration status of applicants.

Eleven states now grant driver's licenses to noncitizens who do not have visas. There is no reliable estimate of how many licenses have been issued to noncitizens, whether in the country legally or illegally.

Some of the ideas in the new measure were considered and dropped in December. But conservative members of the House, led by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican of Wisconsin, threatened to block passage of the intelligence bill, and won an agreement that they could try again this year. They got a pledge from the leadership to include the driver's license measures in a must-pass bill this year.

Under the rules being considered, before granting a driver's license, a state would have to require proof of citizenship or legal presence, proof of an address and proof of a Social Security number. It would need to check the legal status of noncitizens against a national immigration database, to save copies of any documents shown and to store a digital image of the face of each applicant.

The licenses issued must include the driver's address and a digital photograph, and would incorporate new authentication features designed to prevent counterfeits. The new law would also require that the licenses of legal temporary residents expire when their visas do. The rules would also apply to renewals, an aide involved in the conference said.

Supporters of the law say it addresses important security problems and note that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used driver's licenses as identification when checking in for their flights, and that a few had expired visas.

Supporters also say the measure will help control illegal immigration. Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman for NumbersUSA, a group that lobbies for tighter borders and tougher immigration laws, said, "This is really targeted toward national security, but a side effect would be discouraging illegal immigrants from coming into the United States and making it more difficult for them to open a bank account, buy a house, rent a car or buy a car."

State officials and some senators say the new provision, known as the Real ID measure, imposes verification procedures - like the authentication of birth certificates - that would be difficult for even the federal government to meet.

A bipartisan group of senators - the Republicans John E. Sununu of New Hampshire and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and the Democrats Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois - complained about the proposal in a recent letter to the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist.

"By repealing a provision enacting a central recommendation of the 9/11 commission, in favor of unworkably rigid federal mandates," the letter said, "it would jeopardize an initiative that can make the nation safer from terrorist attack."
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Driver's license a hassle? It may get worse
Congress weighs 9/11 security measure, but governors oppose

MSNBC staff and news service reports

Updated: 11:03 a.m. ET May 3, 2005

WASHINGTON - Americans could soon be required to show four types of ID when applying for a driver's license. Despite objections from governors and state legislatures, Congress is close to passing that requirement as a post-Sept. 11 security measure.

Civil liberties and gun rights supporters, two groups often at odds, also oppose the measure on privacy grounds, saying they fear driver’s licenses will evolve into a national identification card.

Under the legislation, Americans applying for driver’s licenses would have to bring far more information with them to motor vehicle offices. They would be asked to show birth certificates, a photo ID, proof of their Social Security number and a document with full name and home address, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Associated Press. It was unclear how the legislation would affect the renewal of licenses for citizens.

Verification required

Motor vehicle departments would be required to verify the documents and the Social Security numbers. States still could give licenses to illegal immigrants, but they would have different designs or colors to alert security officers that they are unacceptable as IDs for boarding planes or entering federal buildings.

Governors and state legislatures oppose the provisions as too costly, and force motor vehicle officials to become immigration officers.

"Governors share the concern for increasing the security and integrity of the driver's license and state identification processes," Raymond Scheppach, the head of the National Governors Association, said in a recent statement. But, he added, the proposed legislation "would impose unrealistic technological standards and burdensome verification procedures on states."

Undermine existing work?

The National Conference of State Legislatures estimated the legislation could cost states more than $500 million and undermine existing efforts to make driver's licenses more secure.

Those efforts are centered on recommendations first proposed by the president's Sept. 11 commission. State and federal officials should focus on those rather than dismantling the Sept. 11 Commission reforms and impose a rigid, "one-size-fits-all" mandate, NCSL Executive Director William Pound said in the joint statement with the governors association.

The two groups noted that an existing framework exists through the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and "provides the opportunity to develop effective national standards."

Congress should "oppose any legislative effort that would curtail this ongoing rulemaking process," the added.

Senate negotiators give green light

Under the federal legislation, which was attached to a bill funding operations in Iraq, states would have three years after the bill becomes law to meet the standards or their driver’s licenses won’t be accepted by federal officers for identification.

The House and Senate passed separate Iraq funding bills, and only the House included the license provision. But Senate negotiators working on a compromise bill on Monday accepted the House provision.

All but one of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had some form of U.S. identification, some of it fraudulent, the Sept. 11 Commission found. The commission recommended the federal government set standards for birth certificates and other identification documents, including driver’s licenses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7720464/

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