Real ID Act repeal.

WORKING DRAFT
2008
STATE OF
WYOMING
08LSO-0337

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
NO.
HJ0005

Real ID Act repeal.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Esquibel, F.

A Bill

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress to repeal the creation of a national identification card and the implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005.

WHEREAS, the state of Wyoming recognizes the constitution of the United States as our charter of liberty and the bill of rights as affirming the fundamental and inalienable rights of Americans, including privacy and freedom from unreasonable searches; and

WHEREAS,
Wyoming
has a diverse population whose contributions are vital to the state's economy, culture and civic character; and

WHEREAS, Wyoming is proud of its tradition of protecting the civil rights and liberties of all of its residents, affirming the fundamental rights of all people and providing more expansive protections than are granted by the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the state of
Wyoming
denounces terrorism in all its forms and condemns all acts of terrorism by any entity, wherever the acts occur; and

WHEREAS, any new security measures to protect from terrorist attacks should be carefully designed to enhance public safety without infringing on the civil liberties and rights of citizens; and

WHEREAS, the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, Public Law 109
‑
13, creates a national identification card by mandating federal standards for state driver's licenses and identification cards and requiring states to share their motor vehicle databases; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act mandates the documents that states must require to issue driver's licenses and requires states to place uniform information on every driver's license in a standard, machine readable format; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act prohibits federal agencies and federally regulated commercial aircraft from accepting a driver's license or identification card issued by a state that has not fully complied with the act; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act places a costly unfunded mandate on states, with initial estimates for Wyoming of more than several million dollars over five (5) years and national estimates of more than eleven billion dollars ($11,000,000,000.00) over the next five (5) years; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act requires the creation of a massive public sector database containing information on every American that is accessible to motor vehicle employees and law enforcement officers nationwide and that can be used to gather and manage information on citizens, and this is not the business or responsibility of government; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act enables the creation of additional massive private sector databases, combining both transactional information and driver's license information gained from scanning the machine-readable information contained on every driver's license; and

WHEREAS, these public and private databases are likely to contain numerous errors and false information, creating significant hardship for Americans attempting to verify their identities in order to fly, open a bank account or perform any of the numerous functions required to live in the United States today; and

WHEREAS, the federal trade commission estimates that ten million (10,000,000) Americans are victims of identity theft annually, and because identity thieves are increasingly targeting motor vehicle departments, the REAL ID Act will enable the crime of identity theft by making the personal information of all Americans, including date of birth and signature, accessible from tens of thousands of locations; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act requires a driver's license to contain a person's actual home address and makes no exception for individuals in potential danger, such as undercover law enforcement or victims of stalking or criminal harassment; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act contains onerous record verification and retention provisions that place unreasonable burdens on the motor vehicle division of the department of transportation and on third parties required to verify records; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act will place enormous burdens on consumers seeking new driver's licenses such as longer lines, higher costs, increased document requests and a waiting period; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act will place state motor vehicle staff on the front lines of immigration enforcement by forcing state employees to determine federal citizenship and immigration status, excessively burdening both foreign-born applicants and motor vehicle staff; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act passed without sufficient deliberation by
C
ongress and did not receive a hearing by any
C
ongressional committee or a vote solely on its own merits, despite opposition from more than six hundred (600) organizations; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act eliminated a process of negotiated rulemaking initiated under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which had convened federal, state and local policymakers, privacy advocates and industry experts to solve the problem of misuse of identity documents; and

WHEREAS, the REAL ID Act provides little security benefit and leaves identification systems open to insider fraud, counterfeit documentation and database failures.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING
:

Section 1.

T
hat the state of Wyoming supports the government of the United States in its campaign against terrorism, while affirming the commitment of the United States that the campaign not be waged at the expense of the essential civil rights and liberties of the citizens of this country
.

Section 2
.

T
hat it is the policy of the state of
Wyoming
to oppose any portion of the REAL ID Act that violates the rights and liberties guaranteed under the constitutions of the state of
Wyoming
or the
United States
, including the bill of rights
.

Section 3.

T
hat the Wyoming legislature enact no legislation nor authorize an appropriation to further the passage of the REAL ID Act in Wyoming, unless such appropriation is used exclusively for the purpose of undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the costs of implementing the REAL ID Act or to mount a constitutional challenge to the act by the state attorney general
.

Section 4
.

T
hat the
Wyoming
legislature urge the
Wyoming
congressional delegation to support measures to repeal the REAL ID Act.

Section
5
.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

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HJ0005