Real ID Bill To Be Voted In House On Wednesday

The Real ID Repeal bill  goes before the full A&B committee tomorrow at 3pm. 

  The Constitutional Alliance released this bulletin to inform concerned Oklahomans of the ramifications of the legislature's actions.

"In 2007 Oklahoma legislators –unanimously- passed a law prohibiting the implementation of the REAL ID Act, finding that the “federal REAL ID Act of 2005 is inimical to the security and well-being of the people of Oklahoma. . .”

Citing issues related to the costs of implementing REAL ID, harm to liberty and privacy interests of the people and federal overreach, at least 25 states passed a law or resolution prohibiting the implementation of Real ID in their states.
This year some have decided to its time to implement the federal REAL ID Act in Oklahoma.

The governor and Senate leadership worked on Senate Bill 1362, which would create two state identification cards, said state Sen. David Holt. One card would be compliant with decade-old REAL ID federal guidelines that set minimum security standards for state-issued IDs, including driver’s licenses. Enforcement of the guidelines has been delayed as several states refused to comply.

http://journalrecord.com/2016/01/27/real-compromise-two-license-system-could-get-state-on-board-with-real-id-capitol/

  SB1362 is explained as a bill that authorizes Oklahoma to fully comply with the Real ID Act while allowing individuals to opt out. The bill does nothing to protect Oklahoman’s who have privacy, information security, federalism, fiscal or religious freedom objections to REAL ID.  Under SB1362, biometric data is still collected from everyone who wants an Oklahoma driver’s license or ID card – whether or not it is a REAL ID compliant version.
  Depending on the ‘option’ you choose, the card will look a little different. The non-compliant cards will indicate that it not suitable for federal identification purposes and the compliant version will bear the seal of federal approval – a little yellow star.

There will be no penalty if Oklahoma takes no action on REAL ID this session.  On the other hand, there will clearly be repercussions to Oklahomans’ pocketbooks, privacy, security, and liberty, for doing so.

It’s not the card that people are worried about – it’s the database.

Title II, Section 202(d)(12) of the REAL ID Act
You can put the card in your pocket but your personal information is still in the database – the SAME database that we will be required to share with all other states if our state chooses to fully implement the REAL ID Act.

Proponents of REAL ID implementation in Oklahoma offer this amendment in SB1362 to sooth the concerns about personal and biometric data sharing as required by the Act.
(d) To meet the requirements of this section, a State shall adopt the following practices in the issuance of drivers’ licenses and identification cards:… (12) Provide electronic access to all other States to information contained in the motor vehicle database of the State.

This amendment does absolutely nothing to protect personal information. If Oklahoma decides to adopt the REAL ID Act, the federal government (and just about anyone else including the federal government’s international partners) won’t need for the state to provide the data “directly” because there will be a variety of ways that they can get it indirectly and furthermore it won’t be the state’s problem anymore but it will still be yours.
C. The State of Oklahoma shall not share its citizens' personal information or biometric data with the federal government directly only as a result of compliance with the REAL ID Act of 2005, Public Law Number 109-13.

Jurisdiction is the territory within which a court or government agency may properly exercise its power.
Currently, our state DMV database is under the jurisdiction of the state. You might be a little surprised to find that the conditions for sharing your private information are rather lax but there are conditions nonetheless and the state is responsible for any mishaps which encourages them to share in a conservative manner. Jurisdiction-The term jurisdiction is really synonymous with the word "power" (The Legal Information Institute)

REAL ID compliance still means accepting- more accurately, it means inviting federal overreach by permitting the federal government to dictate our system of driver’s license and identification card issuance, which is rightfully a function of state governments.
Under the REAL ID Act all other states are required to be given direct access to that database releasing state officials from responsibility and accountability for what becomes of the data. The state will lose its jurisdiction (its power) and we will lose our ability to hold officials accountable. Amendment C. is meaningless. As you can see, if your concern is about handing over more power over to the federal government, SB1362 also provides no remedy. But it goes further. The final rules for the REAL ID Act require a REAL ID complaint driver’s license or ID card for certain specified “official purposes” (defined in Sec 201 of the Act.)

(3) OFFICIAL PURPOSE- The term `official purpose' includes but is not limited to accessing Federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other purposes that the Secretary shall determine.
Under the REAL ID Act, one unelected federal bureaucrat is handed to power to add anything he or she wishes to the list of official purposes. These purposes are: • Entering Federal facilities • boarding a Federally-regulated commercial aircraft • Entering a nuclear power plant And • “Any other purpose established by the Secretary of Homeland Security” ___________________________________________________________REAL ID Act – Official Purposes The REAL ID Act requires the use of a federally compliant DL/ID for certain official purposes as defined in Section 201 of the Act:

(Source: REAL ID Title II https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/real-id-act-text.pdf)

SB1362 has Oklahoma voluntarily choosing to saddle the state and citizens with future unknown burdens which will be imposed at the whim of a DC bureaucrat.
For example, requiring a REAL ID for purchasing firearms and simply working for a living are policy proposals that have already made.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Blueprint for Federal Action, page 6 http://www.joycefdn.org/assets/1/7/blueprint_federal_action.pdf

New ID rules would threaten citizens' rights

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/opinion/sobel-id-immigration/index.html

You can reasonably expect these rights and many more to become contingent upon participation in federally approved biometric identification system if the states cave in to pressure and implement the REAL ID Act.

Those concerned about the fiscal impact moving forward with REAL ID would have on our state will certainly not be satisfied by SB1362.

The costs associated with REAL ID are, unsurprisingly, being passed directly to the people of the state.

It wasn’t long ago that the Oklahoma legislature voted for, and the Governor approved, raising the fee by $13 in 2012. http://newsok.com/article/3809636

SB1362 proposes to raise the fee again by $10. And even though SB1362 has been passed by the Senate, to date, no fiscal impact statement has been provided for SB1362.

Oklahomans should be aware that no matter what the cost, this isn’t a onetime thing. Under the REAL ID Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security can decide to require additional standards or technology to be added to drivers licenses and ID’s and pass that cost on to the states.

REAL ID, admittedly, will do nothing to increase the security of our driver’s licenses and ID’s.

As revealed in recent REAL ID legislative hearings, Oklahoma driver’s licenses are among the most secure in the nation and REAL ID compliance brings us NO additional security gains.
But despite the obvious downsides to REAL ID compliance the issue is being treated as a most urgent one. What is the reasoning?

“If grandma can’t visit her grandkids at Christmas, there will be riots in the streets, and justifiably so”—Senator David Holt http://journalrecord.com/2016/01/27/real-compromise-two-license-system-could-get-state-on-board-with-real-id-capitol/

Similarly, the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety warned:

“…if you want to go to Kansas City to watch the Big Twelve Championship, you are going to have to have a passport.” --DPS Commissioner Michael Thompson, Nov. 18, 2015

The public has been led to believe that without a REAL ID compliant driver’s license or ID card they will be unable to fly commercially in the near future without a passport. This is not true and we should always be suspicious of officials using fear tactics to push an agenda forward.

Not even the Department of Homeland Security or the TSA has been so brazen in misrepresenting the power of the federal government - which cannot and will not bar anyone from boarding a commercial aircraft because they do not have a REAL ID (or a passport).

It is true that having your driver’s license serve as an all-purpose biometric national ID would be convenient. But the fact remains that neither grandma nor sport fans will be prevented from flying because they don’t have one.

TSA policies allow for travelers to fly commercially with a wide variety of documents to verify identity or even no documentation at all.

@AskTSA: Can I fly without ID? What about Real ID?

If you do not have your ID, please allow extra time for check in http://wwlp.com/2016/03/04/asktsa-can-i-fly-without-my-id/.
For practical and security reasons, the federal government finds itself hard pressed to bar anyone from flying simply because they lack a certain preferred ID.

TSA needs to be able to assess a wide range of information proffered by a passenger in order to investigate the passenger's identity and make sure that watchlist matching has occurred. […] TSA must retain the ability to use alternative identity verification procedures to ensure that we are able to verify a passenger's identity.

TSA response to Congressman Kenny Marchant, Aug. 7, 2014 https://marchant.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/8-7-14_TSA_Notice_to_Appear_response.pdf.  The political and economic repercussions of preventing people who otherwise present no risk from flying domestically simply because they don’t have a federally approved ID, would be enormous.

It is hard to imagine, but not impossible, that the federal government would desire to push it. In any event, if the states wanted to enable the feds to engage in this sort of authoritarianism, they could do no better than to cave in to the pressure and go ahead and implement the REAL ID Act.

Oklahomans should stand strong against REAL ID and refuse to give in to fear mongering politicians. There is no urgency, no need, and it is of no benefit for anyone, for Oklahoma to rush into REAL ID compliance this session.

The Department of Homeland Security announced in January 2016 that driver’s licenses of all states will be valid for use as identification to fly commercially in the U.S. until (at least) 2018.

"Right now, no individual needs to adjust travel plans, or rush out to get a new driver’s license or a passport for domestic air travel. Until January 22, 2018, residents of all states will still be able to use a state-issued driver’s license or identification card for domestic air travel..."

(Secretary Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, Jan. 8, 2016 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/01/08/statement-secretary-jeh-c-johnson-final-phase-real-id-act-implementation)
DHS extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline until 2018, because there are a number of states such as Texas and Montana, whose legislatures are only in session in odd numbered years, cannot take any action on Real ID until 2017.

There will be no penalty if Oklahoma takes no action on REAL ID this session. On the other hand, there will clearly be repercussions to Oklahomans’ pocketbooks, privacy, security, and liberty, for doing so."
Information provided courtesy of the Constitutional Alliance

www.constitutionalalliance.org