More Commentary

• Commentary: Bill aims to help American Indians in urban areas
• Commentary: Albuquerque Public Schools just can't admit they let down the children of Navajo Elementary
• Commentary: Volunteer vets provide animal care to New Mexico's pueblos and reservations

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Albuquerque Old Town
• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Warning to all New Mexico residents: After May 11, 2008, come prepared when you renew your driver's license. Find your original Social Security card and your original birth certificate and one more piece of identity proof, and hope there isn't any variation in your name - William, Will, Bill. Make sure you have the legal documents that verify any name changes.

Oh, yes, and bring your checkbook. Proposed new licenses or ID cards may cost two to three times more than they do today - unless the federal government puts its money where its mouth is.

The Real ID Act, enacted by Congress last year, establishes standards that state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards must meet by May 11, 2008, if the licenses or ID cards are to be accepted as valid identification by the federal government.

Because the act was attached to a vital supplemental spending bill for defense and tsunami relief in 2005 - HR 1268, PL 109-13 - there was no opportunity for a full examination of the consequences of the proposal.

By enacting the Real ID Act, the federal government has gotten into the business of designing secure driver's licenses and identification cards and telling the states what has to be done to ensure that security.

While everyone recognizes the need to make identifying documents as secure as is humanly possible, the one-size-fits-all approach required by the act may actually increase the documents' vulnerability to counterfeiting. If the wrong people are able to crack into one state's system, they may have access to all states' systems.

With the deadline for compliance with the Real ID Act a little more than 18 months away, New Mexico continues to wait for Real ID regulations to be released by the federal Department of Homeland Security. We need to know what is expected so that we can make more accurate estimates of the costs. I can only speculate about the requirements and the potential costs of this unfunded federal mandate.

A recent report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators suggests that the new requirements will cost states at least $11 billion over the first five years of the program. To date, Congress has appropriated only $40 million to implement the law. That's not even enough to cover New Mexico's projected cost of at least $43 million over the first five years of implementation.

But it isn't just your tax dollars that will be tapped to pay for this poorly thought-out project. Let's not forget the consumer costs. Real ID will undo state practices designed to ease a driver's experiences with the Motor Vehicle Division, including putting a stop to such innovations as eight-year licenses.

All 1.2 million existing license- or card-holders in New Mexico will have to make an in-person visit to their MVD and provide original identification documents before a Real ID-compliant license can be issued. This will be especially problematic for many of our American Indian and elderly residents who were not born in a hospital or were not issued a birth certificate when they were born.

Recommendations in the above-mentioned report provide a more realistic approach to implementation. These include increasing federal funds to enable the states to comply with the act, extending the re-enrollment schedule from an expected five years to 10 years to maximize resources and avoid severe disruptions to customer service, and allowing states to waive the identity verification process for an individual whose identity has already been verified by federal authorities, such as those with military IDs or passports.

Unless you're prepared to pay more, wait longer and be more vulnerable to identify theft, contact the members of your congressional delegation, and tell them you want them to make substantive changes to the act.

If enough of us don't, Real ID will be here before we know it. And it's for real.