The governor’s proposal for the California budget includes funding to come into full compliance with the REAL ID. This portion – at very least – needs to be REJECTED by the state Assembly.
REAL ID essentially establishes a national ID and prohibits the use of state IDs (driver’s licenses and non-driver IDs) for “federal purposes” unless they comply with the act’s measures, which include requirements standardized data elements and security features on the IDs, including photographs that are compatible with facial recognition technologies; the presentation, verification, and electronic storage of source documents such as birth certificates; and the construction of a 50-state, interlinked database making all the information in each person’s DMV file available to all the other states and to the federal government, among other requirements.
REAL ID creates huge administrative burdens for state governments, while providing only minimal federal funds for implementing its onerous requirements.
At the same time, it does nothing to combat terrorism and puts us at greater risk for invasions of privacy and identity theft.
REAL ID represents not just an unfunded mandate, but an unconstitutional expansion of federal power over something reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment.
TAKE ACTION
Call your state Assemblymember and state Senator – tell them you oppose funding for the REAL ID Act. Let them know you expect them to reject this proposal.
Contact info here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
