PRINTER'S NO. 578
No. 100 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY JOSEPHS, YEWCIC, THOMAS, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, COX,
DENLINGER, DERMODY, FABRIZIO, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GOODMAN,
HARHAI, HORNAMAN, JAMES, KIRKLAND, MUNDY, MYERS, NICKOL,
PALLONE, PARKER, ROHRER, SIPTROTH AND YOUNGBLOOD,
MARCH 6, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 6, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing the Congress of the United States to repeal or
2 delay the creation of a national identification card and the
3 implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005.
4 WHEREAS, In May 2005 the Congress of the United States passed
5 the REAL ID Act of 2005 (REAL ID Act) as part of the Emergency
6 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on
7 Terror, and Tsunami Relief Act, 2005 (Public Law 109-13), which
8 was signed by President Bush on May 11, 2005, and which becomes
9 fully effective May 11, 2008; and
10 WHEREAS, The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
11 Pennsylvania denounces terrorism in all its forms and condemns
12 all acts of terrorism by any entity, wherever the acts occur;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, Any new security measures to protect against
15 terrorist attacks should be carefully designed to enhance public
16 safety without infringing on the civil liberties and rights of
17 citizens; and
1 WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act constitutes an unfunded mandate by
2 the Federal Government to the states; and
3 WHEREAS, It will cost the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania an
4 estimated $100 million to implement the REAL ID Act; and
5 WHEREAS, The implementation of the REAL ID Act intrudes upon
6 the states' sovereign power to determine their own policies for
7 identification, licensure and credentialing of individuals
8 residing therein; and
9 WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act requires the creation of a massive
10 public sector database containing information on every American
11 that is accessible to all motor vehicle agency employees and law
12 enforcement officers nationwide and that can be used to gather
13 and manage information on citizens, which is neither the
14 business nor the responsibility of government; and
15 WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act enables the creation of additional
16 massive private sector databases, combining both transactional
17 information and driver's license information gained from
18 scanning the machine-readable information contained on every
19 driver's license; and
20 WHEREAS, These public and private databases are likely to
21 contain numerous errors and false information, creating
22 significant hardship for Americans attempting to verify their
23 identities in order to fly, open a bank account or perform any
24 of the numerous functions required to live in the United States
25 today; and
26 WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act requires a driver's license to
27 contain a person's actual home address and makes no exception
28 for individuals in potential danger, such as undercover law
29 enforcement officials or victims of domestic violence, stalking
30 or criminal harassment; and
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1 WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act contains onerous record verification
2 provisions that place unreasonable burdens on Pennsylvanians
3 renewing their drivers' licenses; and
4 WHEREAS, Some of the intended privacy requirements of the
5 REAL ID Act, such as the use of common machine-readable
6 technology and state maintenance of a database that can be
7 shared with the United States Government and agencies of other
8 states, may actually make it more likely that a federally
9 required driver's license or state identification card, or the
10 information about the bearer on which the license or card is
11 based, will be stolen, sold or otherwise used for purposes that
12 were never intended or that are criminally related than if the
13 REAL ID Act had not been enacted; and
14 WHEREAS, These potential breaches in privacy that could
15 result directly from compliance with the REAL ID Act may violate
16 the right to privacy of thousands of Pennsylvanians; and
17 WHEREAS, Identification-based security provides only limited
18 security benefits because it can be avoided by defrauding or
19 corrupting card issuers and because it gives no protection
20 against people not already known to be planning or committing
21 wrongful acts; and
22 WHEREAS, A growing number of states have proposed and passed
23 legislation that opposes the implementation of the REAL ID Act;
24 therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
26 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania support the intention of the United
27 States Government to prevent terrorism, but not at the expense
28 of the essential civil rights and liberties of the citizens of
29 this country; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives oppose any
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1 portion of the REAL ID Act that violates the rights and
2 liberties guaranteed under the Constitution of Pennsylvania or
3 the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of
4 Rights; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
6 Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation to support measures to
7 repeal the REAL ID Act or to delay its implementation until such
8 time as sufficient funds are available to adequately cover the
9 costs of implementation and amendment is made to preserve
10 essential civil rights and liberties of the citizens of this
11 country; and be it further
12 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
13 the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
14 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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