- The agencies who will be responsible for implementing
the provisions of the REAL ID Act, which requires upgrades to state driver
licenses and identification cards to comply with federal regulations, said
that the costs are likely to exceed $11 billion, and they want you to pay
for it.
-
- A report (PDF) released by the National Governors Association,
National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association
of Motor Vehicle Administrators, says that the costs of reissuing driver
licenses and identification cards within five years, establishing on-site
identification verification procedures and meeting security and production
requirements for the new card will cost $1 billion up front, and $10.1
billion over the next five years.
-
- The REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, requires states to issue
identification cards which conform to federal requirements by 2008, or
they won't be accepted by federal authorities, and people won't be able
to enter federal buildings, airports or receive federal services. But the
Department of Homeland Security hasn't yet determined what the requirements
will be.
-
- Cost estimates for REAL ID compliance have varied, from
millions of dollars right after the act was passed, to a $2.5 billion estimate
released by a market research firm last month. The number just keeps increasing
as time goes by.
-
- In addition, complying with the act could double - or
more - the time individuals spend obtaining or renewing their driver licenses
and identification cards, the report said.
-
- "The days of going to the DMV and getting your license
on the same day are probably over," said David Quam, director of federal
relations for the National Governors Association. "You'll have to
take all your documents as if you were applying for the first time. What
this comes down to is that more people will be in DMV offices spending
more time to get an ID."
-
- The report, "The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis,"
does not say whether the cost of implementation will be passed on to drivers
and holders of state identification cards. But Homeland Security officials
said the price of similar new smart cards for 750,000 workers at ports
and other transportation facilities will be about $140 each.
-
- The State Department recently raised passport fees for
adults to $97 to incorporate security into new e-passports, and a smart
ID card for federal workers is expected to cost $100 to $150. - Washington
Post"The $11 billion question is, 'Who's going to pay for it?'"
said NCSL executive director William T. Pound. "State legislators
are eager to work with Congress and the administration to ease the impact
of REAL ID and look forward to doing so."
-
- And how do they want to ease the impact? They want the
federal government to pay for at least some of the implementation costs,
and extend the deadline for states to comply with the act.
-
- Welcome to the $100 identification card. One way or another,
you're going to pay for the card, whether directly through user fees, or
indirectly through federal income taxes. You're going to have to spend
the entire day at the DMV, rather than just half the day. And then all
the data on that card is going into a centralized government database,
so you can be tracked wherever you go.
-
- This doesn't provide security for the people. This does,
however, provide security for the government, against the people. Which
was the whole point all along.
|
