| Earlier this week, an official with the Department of Motor Vehicles went on the record to announce that West Virgina was good to go with a federally mandated compliance deadline related to state drivers' licenses and the Real ID Act. Now, While it is correct that the West Virginia driver's license currently meet the physical standards for what is required under Real ID, that's only about 1% of what Real ID is actually about. Additionally, the proposed substitute for Real ID (also known as PASS ID) should never under any circumstances be portrayed as sound policy. Far from it, it is actually, in many respects, just as bad. In some cases, it is even worse. Consider the following: An analysis of PASS ID (or Real ID Lite) will show that motor vehicle administrations across the country will still be mandated to copy and keep the source identity records of anyone applying for a license and hold on to that information for as long as the license is valid. So, it won't be enough to show your birth certificate, social security card, and a utility bill to get a driver's license in West Virginia. If "Real ID Lite" becomes law, all of that information will be stored in digital files, creating a treasure trove of your personal information. The opportunities for identity theft will be endless. If creating massive government run databases with digital copies of your source identity documents (i.e. birth certificates, social security cards, etc.) isn't reason enough to take a "Pass" on the new PASS ID (sorry, couldn't help myself to a little play on words) then consider this: PASS ID still allows for the introduction and usage of the controversial RFID chip. This is that little thing you heard about that would allow the government to track your individual movements right through your driver's license. YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bottom line is that while West Virginia's current standards for obtaining a driver's license do meet some of the superficial criteria set forth in the Real ID Act, we by no means should allow government officials or anyone else for that matter to suggest that the proposed replacement for Real ID is anything but a privacy disaster waiting to happen. To date, 24 states have enacted anti-Real ID legislation. West Virginia has come close, passing anti-Real ID legislation through the State Senate in 2008. When states stand up to this reckless federal mandate, they are rejecting the principle of the issue as much as anything else. Real ID cannot be fixed. It should simply be scrapped. |
