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H.R. 4

             1     

HOUSE RESOLUTION EXPRESSING

             2     
OPPOSITION TO THE CREATION OF A

             3     
NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD

             4     
2009 GENERAL SESSION

             5     
STATE OF UTAH

             6     
Chief Sponsor: Stephen E. Sandstrom

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This resolution of the House of Representatives opposes the REAL ID Act of 2005 and
             11      its implementation of a national identification card.
             12      Highlighted Provisions:
             13          This resolution:
             14          .    supports the United States Government's commitment that the campaign against
             15      terrorism not be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of the
             16      nation's citizens;
             17          .    opposes any portion of the REAL ID Act that violates the rights and liberties
             18      guaranteed under the Utah Constitution or the United States Constitution;
             19          .    opposes state legislation that would further the REAL ID Act in Utah unless
             20      intended to undertake an analysis of the cost of implementing REAL ID or to pursue
             21      a constitutional challenge to the Act by the state;
             22          .    urges Utah's congressional delegation to support measures repealing Title II of the
             23      REAL ID Act of 2005 and restoring the negotiated rulemaking process established
             24      under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004; and
             25          .    urges the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to not penalize any
             26      state or its citizens for failure to comply with the REAL ID Act pending further
             27      congressional consideration of whether to repeal or replace the Act.


             28      Special Clauses:
             29          None
             30     
             31      Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
             32          WHEREAS, the state of Utah recognizes the Constitution of the United States as the
             33      nation's charter of liberty, and that the Bill of Rights enshrines the fundamental and inalienable
             34      rights of Americans, including privacy and freedom from unreasonable searches;
             35          WHEREAS, each of Utah's duly elected public servants has sworn to defend and
             36      uphold the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the state of Utah;
             37          WHEREAS, the state of Utah denounces and condemns all acts of terrorism by any
             38      entity, wherever the acts occur;
             39          WHEREAS, terrorist attacks against Americans, like those on September 11, 2001,
             40      have necessitated the crafting of effective laws to protect citizens of the United States and
             41      others from terrorist attacks;
             42          WHEREAS, any new security measures of federal, state, or local governments should
             43      be carefully designed and employed to enhance public safety without infringing on the civil
             44      liberties and rights of innocent citizens of Utah and the United States;
             45          WHEREAS, Title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005 creates a national identification card
             46      by requiring that uniform information be placed on every states' driver license, requiring that
             47      the information be machine readable in a standard format, and requiring that the card be used
             48      for any federal purpose, including air travel;
             49          WHEREAS, REAL ID will be a costly unfunded mandate that the Department of
             50      Homeland Security estimates will, over the next ten years, cost states 3.9 billion dollars and
             51      individuals 5.8 billion dollars;
             52          WHEREAS, regulations made by the Department of Homeland Security do not
             53      adequately address fundamental burdens that the statute imposes on states and individuals, or
             54      violations of privacy and constitutional rights;
             55          WHEREAS, REAL ID requires the creation of a massive public sector database
             56      containing the driver license information on every American with a license, accessible to every
             57      state motor vehicle employee and every state and federal law enforcement officer;
             58          WHEREAS, REAL ID enables the creation of an additional massive private sector


             59      database of driver license information gained from scanning the machine-readable information
             60      contained on every driver license;
             61          WHEREAS, these public and private databases are certain to contain numerous errors
             62      and false information, creating significant hardships for Americans attempting to verify their
             63      identity in order to fly, open a bank account, or perform any of the numerous functions required
             64      to live in the United States today;
             65          WHEREAS, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 10 million Americans are
             66      victims of identity theft annually;
             67          WHEREAS, these identity thieves are increasingly targeting motor vehicle
             68      departments;
             69          WHEREAS, REAL ID will facilitate the crime of identity theft by making the personal
             70      information of all Americans, including name, date of birth, gender, driver license or
             71      identification card number, digital photograph, address, and signature accessible from tens of
             72      thousands of locations;
             73          WHEREAS, REAL ID requires driver licenses to contain actual home addresses and
             74      makes only limited provisions for securing personal information for individuals in potential
             75      danger such as undercover police officers and victims of domestic violence, stalking, or
             76      criminal harassment;
             77          WHEREAS, REAL ID contains no exemption for religion, limits religious liberty, and
             78      tramples the beliefs of groups like the Amish and certain Evangelical Christians;
             79          WHEREAS, REAL ID contains onerous record verification and retention provisions
             80      that place unreasonable burdens on both Utah's Motor Vehicle Division and on third parties
             81      required to verify records;
             82          WHEREAS, REAL ID will likely place enormous burdens on individuals seeking a
             83      new driver license, including longer lines, higher costs, increased document requests, and a
             84      waiting period;
             85          WHEREAS, REAL ID was passed without sufficient deliberation by Congress and
             86      never received a hearing by a congressional committee or any vote solely on its merits;
             87          WHEREAS, REAL ID eliminated a process of negotiated rulemaking initiated under
             88      the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which had convened federal,
             89      state, and local policymakers, privacy advocates, and industry experts to address the misuse of


             90      identity documents;
             91          WHEREAS, more than 600 organizations opposed the passage of REAL ID, including
             92      the Utah Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Utah Eagle Forum; and
             93          WHEREAS, REAL ID would provide little security benefit and still leave
             94      identifications systems open to insider fraud, counterfeit documentation, and database failures:
             95          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
             96      state of Utah supports the United States Government's campaign against terrorism and its
             97      commitment that the campaign not be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and
             98      liberties of the nation's citizens that are protected in the United States Constitution, including
             99      the Bill of Rights.
             100          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives opposes any portion
             101      of the REAL ID Act that violates the rights and liberties guaranteed under the Utah
             102      Constitution or the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.
             103          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives expresses its
             104      opposition to state legislation, including appropriations, that would further the REAL ID Act in
             105      Utah unless the appropriation is used exclusively for the purpose of undertaking a
             106      comprehensive analysis of the costs to implement REAL ID, or to mount a constitutional
             107      challenge to the Act by the state Attorney General.
             108          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges Utah's
             109      congressional delegation to support measures to repeal Title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and
             110      restore the negotiated rulemaking process established under Section 7212 of the Intelligence
             111      Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
             112          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges the Secretary
             113      of the Department of Homeland Security to not penalize any state or its citizens for failure to
             114      comply with the REAL ID Act pending further congressional consideration of whether to
             115      repeal the Act and replace it with an act that assists states in strengthening the security of their
             116      driver license system without burdening the finances of the states or the rights of the states'
             117      drivers.
             118          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
             119      the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
             120      States House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,


             121      Governor Huntsman, and the members of Utah's congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-4-09 3:40 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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