Real Rebellion Against Real ID Act

The Real ID Act is coming under increasing scrutiny. Many States are coming out against the Real ID legislation, partly because of privacy concerns, and partly because it is considered by many to be an unfunded Federal mandate. States have been left with the responsibility of coming up with the money needed to comply with the Federal ID requirements.

Congress is now revisiting the Real ID Act and is considering repealing the law or changing it considerably. The Congress is now beginning to understand how much of a mess the new law is creating and that they probably rushed the plan into law, without enough forethought. Many States have refused to comply with the Real ID Act, making it unlikely that the new law will survive.

I wish Congress would have reconsidered the law before I had to deal with it. A simple license renewal turned into a debacle for me last year. Under the Real ID Act, States are not required to comply until 2009. But some States, like Missouri, have put their own systems in place to comply with the law early.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Real ID Act earlier this week. See Video Here