PRINTER'S NO. 2693
No. 468 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, STEIL, SIPTROTH, BLACKWELL, CALTAGIRONE,
FRANKEL, JAMES, KORTZ, KULA, MILNE, PARKER, READSHAW AND
RUBLEY, OCTOBER 22, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,
OCTOBER 22, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the President and Congress of the United States to amend
2 the REAL ID Act in order to reduce the costs of this unfunded
3 mandate on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and all other
4 states.
5 WHEREAS, On May 11, 2005, the REAL ID Act was enacted as part
6 of a supplemental spending bill; and
7 WHEREAS, Under the REAL ID Act, states must begin to
8 implement, unless they apply for an extension, new Federal
9 standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses and
10 identification cards by May 11, 2008, which must be fully
11 implemented by May 2013, or the Federal Government will not
12 recognize the drivers' licenses and identification cards for
13 Federal purposes; and
14 WHEREAS, The Department of Homeland Security issued draft
15 rulemaking in March 2007 regarding the implementation of the
16 REAL ID Act; and
17 WHEREAS, The Department of Homeland Security received
18 comments from the public on the draft rulemaking and is in the
1 process of developing final rulemaking, which is expected to be
2 released in the fall of 2007; and
3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 adopted Senate Resolution No. 126 on June 29, 2007,
5 memorializing the Congress of the United States to repeal or
6 delay the creation of a national identification card and the
7 implementation of the REAL ID Act; and
8 WHEREAS, In the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth
9 of Pennsylvania, the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee has
10 considered various pieces of legislation introduced in the House
11 of Representatives concerning the implementation of the REAL ID
12 Act; and
13 WHEREAS, One of the measures considered by the committee was
14 House Resolution No. 296, which is a concurrent resolution
15 opposing the implementation of costly Federal standards enacted
16 under the REAL ID Act because of the lack of Federal funds to
17 implement the standards and because the standards raise privacy
18 concerns and encroach on existing State policies; and
19 WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 296 was voted out of committee
20 on June 5, 2007, and the resolution was adopted by the House of
21 Representatives on June 18, 2007, by a vote of 200-0; and
22 WHEREAS, After the passage of House Resolution No. 296, the
23 committee appointed a REAL ID task force to continue to monitor
24 the status of the REAL ID Act and its impact on the citizens of
25 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and
26 WHEREAS, The task force has met with stakeholders, including
27 the Department of Transportation, in its continuing effort to
28 study the REAL ID Act and to keep abreast of the latest
29 developments; and
30 WHEREAS, The task force and stakeholders have identified
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1 several revisions to the REAL ID Act which would substantially
2 reduce the cost of implementation, estimated to be $153 million
3 over the first five years and $23 million annually for the
4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, yet still allow for the effective
5 implementation of the REAL ID Act; and
6 WHEREAS, The first recommended change is to revise the
7 timeline for the REAL ID Act deployment and implementation and
8 base it upon the availability and full functionality of all
9 required electronic verification systems, since several of the
10 electronic verification systems to be used in implementation are
11 not yet operable; and
12 WHEREAS, Secondly, because the current in-person reenrollment
13 requirements are the single-most costly component of the REAL ID
14 Act, it is recommended that the in-person reenrollment
15 requirement be eliminated for all current drivers' licenses and
16 identification card holders, 9.0 million people, and
17 reenrollment be permitted through electronic verifications; and
18 WHEREAS, Thirdly, since citizens have become accustomed to
19 utilizing the Internet for basic driver's license and
20 identification card transactions, it is recommended that the
21 initial and ongoing in-person requirements for basic
22 transactions, such as a license renewal or a license change of
23 address, be eliminated; and
24 WHEREAS, Finally, since several of the security standards
25 proposed by the REAL ID Act for licensing facilities are
26 burdensome and costly, it is further recommended that the
27 facility security standards be restructured to allow for
28 practical and applicable security standards that align with
29 other public access facilities; and
30 WHEREAS, If these recommended changes are made to the REAL ID
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1 Act, the cost for implementation of REAL ID could be reduced by
2 $100 million over the first five years and $14 million annually
3 thereafter; therefore be it
4 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
5 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and Congress of
6 the United States to amend the REAL ID Act in order to reduce
7 the costs of this unfunded mandate on the Commonwealth of
8 Pennsylvania and all other states required to implement the act;
9 and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
11 the President of the United States, to the presiding officers of
12 each house of Congress, to each member of Congress from
13 Pennsylvania and to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
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