H.R. 2

1

RESOLUTION OPPOSING REAL ID ACT
2 2007 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Glenn A. Donnelson
5
6 LONG TITLE
7 General Description:
8 This resolution of the Utah House of Representatives urges Congress and the United
9 States Department of Homeland Security to suspend implementation of the REAL ID
10 Act or repeal the REAL ID Act.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This resolution:
13 . urges Congress and the United States Department of Homeland Security to suspend
14 implementation of the REAL ID Act or repeal the REAL ID Act; and
15 . provides for distribution of the resolution.
16 Special Clauses:
17 None
18
19 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
20 WHEREAS, the implementation of the REAL ID Act intrudes upon the states'
21 sovereign power to determine their own policies for identification, licensure, and credentialing
22 of individuals residing therein;
23 WHEREAS, one page of the 428 page 9/11 Commission report that did not give
24 consideration to identification issues, prompted Congress to pass the legislation which created
25 the REAL ID Act, ignoring states' sovereignty and their right to self-governance;
26 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act converts the state driver licensing function into federal
27 law enforcement and national security functions that are outside the purpose and core

28 competency of driver licensing bureaus;
29 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act constitutes an unfunded mandate by the federal
30 government to the states;
31 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act requires states to conform their processes of issuing
32 driver licenses and identification cards to federal standards by May 2008;
33 WHEREAS, the National Governor's Association, National Conference of State
34 Legislatures, and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators predict state
35 compliance with the REAL ID Act provisions will require all of the estimated 245 million
36 current driver license and identification card holders in the United States to renew their current
37 identity documents in person by producing three or four identity documents, thereby increasing
38 processing time and doubling wait time at licensing centers;
39 WHEREAS, identification-based security provides only limited security benefits
40 because it can be avoided by defrauding or corrupting card issuers and because it gives no
41 protection against people not already known to be planning or committing wrongful acts;
42 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act will cost the states over $11 billion to implement
43 according to a recent survey of 47 state licensing authorities conducted by the National
44 Governor's Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American
45 Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators;
46 WHEREAS, the use of identification-based security cannot be justified as part of a
47 "layered" security system if the costs of the identification "layer"--in dollars, lost privacy, and
48 lost liberty--are greater than the security identification provides;
49 WHEREAS, the "common machine-readable technology" required by the REAL ID Act
50 would convert state-issued driver licenses and identification cards into tracking devices,
51 allowing computers to note and record people's whereabouts each time they are identified;
52 WHEREAS, a more secure and flexible system of verifying identity may be achieved
53 by less intrusive means to the individual and to states by employing the free market and private
54 sector ingenuity;
55 WHEREAS, the requirement that states maintain databases of information about their
56 citizens and residents and then share this personal information with all other states will expose
57 every state to the information security weaknesses of every other state and threaten the privacy
58 of every American;

59 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act wrongly coerces states into doing the federal
60 government's bidding by threatening to refuse noncomplying states' citizens the privileges and
61 immunities enjoyed by other states' citizens;
62 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act threatens the privacy and liberty of those individuals
63 belonging to unpopular or minority groups, including racial and cultural organizations, firearm
64 owners and collectors, faith-based and religious affiliates, political parties, and social
65 movements;
66 WHEREAS, Congress passed the REAL ID Act without a single hearing in either
67 house and without an up-or-down vote in either house;
68 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act thus imposes a national identification system through
69 the states, premised upon the threat to national security, but without the benefit of public
70 debate and discourse; and
71 WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act is determined by the Utah State House of
72 Representatives to be in opposition to the Jeffersonian principles of individual liberty, free
73 markets, and limited government:
74 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Utah House of Representatives
75 urges the United States Congress and the United States Department of Homeland Security to
76 suspend implementation of the REAL ID Act.
77 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the REAL ID Act should be repealed outright by
78 the United States Congress to avoid the significant problems it currently poses to state
79 sovereignty, individual liberty, and limited government.
80 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority
81 Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
82 and the members of Utah's congressional delegation.





Legislative Review Note
as of 1-26-07 11:43 AM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel