REAL ID Act; State will not comply with provision thereof that they determine would compromise. (HB1587)

Introduced By

Del. Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) with support from co-patrons Del. Clay Athey (R-Front Royal), Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock), Del. Harvey Morgan (R-Gloucester), Del. Chris Peace (R-Mechanicsville), and Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Real ID Act; Commonwealth's participation. Provides that the Commonwealth will not participate in the compliance of any provision of the federal Real ID Act and of any other federal law, regulation, or policy that would compromise the economic privacy or biometric data of any resident of the Commonwealth. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
09/15/2008Committee
09/15/2008Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/09 093801616
09/15/2008Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety
01/23/2009Referred from Militia, Police and Public Safety
01/23/2009Referred to Committee on Transportation
01/28/2009Impact statement from DPB (HB1587)
02/05/2009Reported from Transportation with amendment (17-Y 3-N) (see vote tally)
02/06/2009Read first time
02/08/2009Passed by for the day
02/09/2009Read second time
02/09/2009Committee amendment agreed to
02/09/2009Engrossed by House as amended HB1587E
02/09/2009Printed as engrossed 093801616-E
02/10/2009Read third time and passed House (88-Y 10-N)
02/10/2009VOTE: --- PASSAGE (88-Y 10-N) (see vote tally)
02/11/2009Constitutional reading dispensed
02/11/2009Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
02/16/2009Impact statement from DPB (HB1587E)
02/18/2009Rereferred from General Laws and Technology (9-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/18/2009Rereferred to Transportation
02/19/2009Reported from Transportation with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/19/2009Committee substitute printed 093877616-S1
02/23/2009Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/24/2009Impact statement from DPB (HB1587S1)
02/24/2009Read third time
02/24/2009Reading of substitute waived
02/24/2009Committee substitute agreed to 093877616-S1
02/24/2009Reading of amendment waived
02/24/2009Amendment by Senator Cuccinelli agreed to
02/24/2009Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute with amendment HB1587S1
02/24/2009Passed Senate with substitute with amendment (38-Y 1-N) (see vote tally)
02/24/2009Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/24/2009Passed Senate with substitute with amendment (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/25/2009Placed on Calendar
02/26/2009Senate substitute with amendment agreed to by House 093877616-S1 (97-Y 0-N)
02/26/2009VOTE: --- ADOPTION (97-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
03/09/2009Enrolled
03/09/2009Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1587ER)
03/09/2009Impact statement from DPB (HB1587ER)
03/10/2009Signed by President
03/11/2009Signed by Speaker
03/30/2009G Approved by Governor-Chapter 733 (effective 7/1/09)
03/30/2009G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0733)

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 1 clip in all, totaling 42 seconds.

Comments

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, tracking this bill in Photosynthesis, notes:

The Virginia Interfaith Center is monitoring this bill.

Reid Greenmun-TLP Chair writes:

As a sign of support in opposition of the proposed federal Real ID Act, the Tidewater Libertarian Party at their January 3, 2009 general meeting, voted unanimously to endorse Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall's House Bill 1587 that has been proposed to the General Assembly.

The bill's intent as stated, 'Provides that the Commonwealth will not participate in the compliance of any provision of the federal Real ID Act and of any other federal law, regulation, or policy that would compromise the economic privacy or biometric data of any resident of the Commonwealth.'

The Tidewater Libertarian Party believes the Real ID Act is an infringement on the constitutional rights of all Americans, and urges all Virginia legislators to join the other states who have opposed this federal legislation as a sign of States Rights as enumerated in the United States Constitution. Regulations and administration of driver licenses should be relegated to the states, not the federal government, no matter the premise.

For additional information, please contact Communications Director: [email protected]

Gregory Stiel writes:

What good is the use of a drivers license for ID when you really don't know if the holder is who he says he is.
Real ID cards themselves are hardened against counterfeiting. This simultaneously helps law enforcement protect national security, prevent identity theft, combat drug trafficking and address other important societal concerns affected by counterfeit ID documents.

This bill by Bob Marshall is nothing but an attempt to circumvent the will of the people of Prince William County and to pander to the local CASA chapter.

Bob Marshall should look around and see the need for the real ID act.

Bruce Ketchum writes:

REAL ID...What a great step toward total state control. All the cows and sheep in the field have number tags and now they what you to have a tag.

Real ID??? What a load of garbage!!

REAL ID??? More millions for Virginia citizens to have to pay for.

REAL ID is a pathetic idea and ANYONE introducing this bill or voting for it is just a puppet for Homeland Security and other Unconstitutional examples of government.

Strongly oppose this kind of state control! Resist it!

As Ben Franklin said...Those who give up liberty for security will have neither.

Gerbera writes:

Real ID cards themselves are hardened against counterfeiting.>

I haven't researched this, but is this really accurate? Is there anything that isn't susceptible to counterfeiting?

Carol R. Bowling Shumate writes:

As a victim of academic identity theft, I welcome the use of biometric identificaiton incorporated into some way of identifying all legal documents, academic degrees,passports and medical records as being the ture records which belong to individuals. There is a lot of falsification which may occur in the use of regualr manufactured IDs, but finger prints, iris scans and DNA samples tend to be hard to replicate!

Lee A. Jette writes:

The addage "If you have nothing to hide, hide nothing" applies here. Bib Brother is NOT at work here, common sense and a need to protect society IS at work.

Alison Hymes writes:

Lee--how many people DON'T have something to hide? Even just a medical condition they don't want everyone with the power to demand their "Real ID" to know about? Do you really think this won't end up being used for nefarious purposes such as denying folks health insurance or jobs?

Carson writes:

Why not skip the ID and go straight for the RFID chip injected into all newborns? Hook a unique identifier up with a national database and we could keep track of their medical records, school grades, traffic tickets, and favorite pizza toppings all in one place. We wouldn't even need job applications anymore, you just get your RFID scanned and the company could instantly know if you have the qualifications and medical capabilities to fulfill the job. We could streamline the college admission process. We could even make it so that advertisements are catered to the individual as they walk down the street!

Pat B writes:

I see 3 issues here
1. The card/identifier itself – can always be counterfeited. We are a nation of very clever and ingenious and amazing people. Someone always will figure that out.
2. The contents of the card itself – will it contain your whereabouts? Whether you owe taxes? Your medical condition? Traffic record? Voting record? I do not want that for myself, my family or my fellow citizens. Once that info is out there, there is no privacy.
3. WHO has access to that info. This is the scariest of all. Have you ever wondered why the FBI files were in the White House? There are people who want to have info on you because that is power to them to manipulate you via blackmail, etc. Look what happened to poor Joe the Plummer. They were digging for dirt to discredit the guy. With Real ID they don’t have to dig – just know someone who has been granted access to it just like with JtP.

James Wahler writes:

Anyone who is willing to allow ANY government agency or official to have access to their biometric data is delusional, ignorant or both!

When is the last time government could be trusted to do 'the right thing'.

'Those who are willing to give up a little freedom for security will get neither.'
Benjamin Franklin (and others)

'Those who don't learn from history are condemned to make the same mistakes repeatedly.'
Too many to mention......

James Wahler writes:

PS; Who/what is Gregory Stiel that makes him qualified to speak for 'the people of Prince William County'?

Could he be related to Himmler?

Marsha Maines writes:

missing the text regarding "collection" of biometric data. this is the KEY. only states "compromise of biometric data".

Marsha Maines writes:

AS the person who has witnessed the internal workings of FEMA and also reported the MASSIVE security BREACH in DMV's databases that expose ALL OF US to identity tampering - all with NO response from our worthless public servants who are supposed to have their jobs for the sole purpose of upholding the Constitution and protecting WE THE PEOPLE who make up "the state" I truly believe the REAL ID is only a front for bar coding us all - the guillitines have already been installed in some of the closed military bases to corrall us "combatants against the Gov't"...our electorate is asleep

Nonprofit NoVA, tracking this bill in Photosynthesis, notes:

Monitoring

Donna Holt writes:

History offers many examples of societies which have
sought to increase security by sacrificing freedom.
America itself provides many pertinent instances.
However, our founding fathers have not left us without
wisdom on this issue. Ben Franklin has famously stated,
“People willing to trade freedom for temporary security
deserve neither and will lose both.” REAL ID undoubtedly
exemplifies a scenario in which a difficult tension
exists between freedom and security. By commandeering
every state’s driver’s license issuing process, REAL ID
threatens the results warned by Franklin – loss of both
freedom and security. It has become the biometric
enrollment phase of a plan to implement a terribly
invasive tracking system, largely without public
knowledge or approval. REAL ID is merely the current face
of a far larger, international government and private
economic effort to collect, store, and distribute the
sensitive biometric data of citizens to use for the twin
purposes of government tracking and economic control. At
issue are much more than standardized or non-duplicative
driver’s licenses. This effort extends worldwide,
threatening every person alive today. Although very
legitimate security concerns exist in this age of
terrorism, this Act extends far beyond terrorism
prevention or protection of the innocent. Keeping that
broad picture in mind, let us move to some background
behind the face of REAL ID implementation in America.

Waldo Jaquith writes:

I am not a fan of REAL ID, but the Department of Planning and Budget's estimate of the cost of this thing is stunning. Virginia like couldn't license commercial drivers anymore. State agencies would lose federal funding that's critical for many programs. It's just not viable to pass this.

Dean Merritt writes:

Donna Holt puts it more eloquent but here’s my take on this. You have probably seen the results of the Federal Government giving itself power that are not covered in the US Constitution but they keep putting crooks and illegal aliens in office and trampling on our US Constitution while we do nothing, thinking that they have our best intrest at heart and trust that they are doing the right thing. We need to clean house and strip out every thing that has been done in our laws and justice system that violated the US Constitution. This would be one more of those things to clean up later. We probably aren’t going to be able to do this with the people that we have in there right now.
This is one more step toward NWO (New World Order) Government Domination. Once this is achieved there will be no turning back. Have any of you heard of Mark of the beast? This is one more step toward NWO. You want the states to have the right to inject this into your newborn children at birth. Anyone who has so little respect for their children do not deserve children. Furthermore you do not and should not have the right to have it done to my children or me. We need more control over our government not the other way around. If you make the penalty for ID theft stricter and more severe there will be less of it. GOD said to Adam and Eve, “To eat of this tree means death”. If it would have happened to Eve right then, (Adam would have asked GOD, “Can we make the next woman without me giving up another rib?”) He would not have eaten also. You tell your children, “Don’t smoke it can kill you.” They see people (their friends and maybe you) smoke and not die so they don’t believe it. It’s the long lasting effects that they don’t see. We need to see the long lasting effect of Real ID before we dive in headfirst and hang ourselves out to dry with no way back.
As for Gregory Stiel, (MR I speak for the people of Prince William County), I doubt if the people of Prince William County want you making this foolish decision for them all by your self.

Pat B writes:

Haha So much for "Real ID cards themselves are hardened against counterfeiting"
http://darkreading.com/security/privacy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000321

Christian Gleim writes:

No card is counterfeit proof, but why make it easy for anyone to make a passable copy with a laser printer and some plastic cards.

The Virginia DMV has recently unveiled new physical security features for their licenses and ID cards, a significant hardening of anti-tampering/counterfeiting from just a few years ago. This is commendable progress.

REAL ID compliant cards will not include an RFID chip, and for those worried about what data is in the machine readable zone (MRZ), it is the information on the face of the license.
The law, PL 109-13, sets minimum standards for physical card security, and sets procedures to verify that the person in front of the DMV counter is who he claims.

The Virginia DMV will still maintain its own records, and it's important to note that Virginia need not even comply with the law which is the basis for Delegate Marshall fighting against it. REAL ID is voluntary, but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.

The law focuses on reducing identity theft, combating criminals and terrorists from receiving valid license in fictitious identities and holds DMVs accountable for protecting applicant’s personal information.

John S. writes:

I am a longshoreman and work in Portsmouth, Va. at Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Everyone that works there, or enters there has to have what is called a "TWIC" card. That stands for Transportation Workers Identification Card. It was issued by TSA who also controls the program.
It is part of the Homeland Security Act they told us.
All cards have a chip which have on it your Photo, finger prints and "other" information. The card has a grid that runs through it along with the visible chip. We all had to have a background check to check for felonies and such before it was issued to us. It cost $132.00 a person (our cost)
When I picked up my card I asked the security firm agent jokingly if my Bank Account info was on there too. Without a smile he answered "not yet". That kind of scared me a little!

Eric writes:

At least Winston could hide from the tele-screen to write his diary. If you put the personality of a person, their thoughts, their likes, dislikes, history, biology and who knows what else into a card; why even bother hiding? It isn't big brother, its back-pocket brother. Watching you wherever you go, slowly compiling everything that constitutes "you" so that it can be checked on, corrected and if need be...eliminated.