AZ Gov. Napolitano Says “Real ID” A No-Go In Arizona
IMHO turning this down is the BIGGEST mistake a state can make.
Arizona will join roughly a dozen states that have vowed not to participate in federal plans for a uniform standard on state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Napolitano signed a measure, House Bill 2677, barring Arizona’s compliance with the Real ID program. In so doing, she called it an unfunded federal mandate that would stick states such as Arizona with a multibillion-dollar bill for the cost to develop and implement the series of new fraud-proof identification cards.
HB 2677 is a rare recent example of broad, bipartisan agreement at the state Capitol, with the Democratic governor and GOP-led Legislature finding common ground in their opposition to Real ID.
Some of that opposition is grounded in concerns about privacy and government advancement toward a national identification card. For Napolitano, the biggest issue is related to Real ID’s costs for the states.
In a letter explaining her support for HB 2677, Napolitano cited a White House estimate that Real ID would cost at least $4 billion to implement. But thus far, she said, the federal government has only appropriated $90 million to help Arizona and other states offset those costs.
“My support of the Real ID Act is, and has always been, contingent upon adequate federal funding,” Napolitano wrote Tuesday. “Absent that, the Real ID Act becomes just another unfunded federal mandate.”
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner disputed the characterization, saying states have access to hundreds of millions in federal grants to help pay for Real ID implementation.
Arizona and other states that have taken a stand against Real ID now are on a collision course with the federal government.
The program was approved by Congress in 2005 as part of a package of post-9/11 security recommendations. While state compliance is voluntary, individuals will be required by the end of 2009 to carry identification that meets Real ID standards in order to board commercial flights or enter federal buildings.
That provision still stands, Keehner said, adding, “The rules are clear.”
Dan Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, scoffed at the suggestion that millions of Americans would be barred from air travel or federal buildings because of the standoff between the states and federal government. His organization has been a vocal opponent of Real ID because of concerns about privacy and government intrusion.
Said Pochoda, “I can guarantee that 25 percent of airline travelers will not be banned from the purchasing of airline tickets in 2009.”
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Napolitano is just another in a long line of whining liberals who don’t give a shit about national security because god forbid her constituants might have to be put upon.
As for the ACLU, I’ve got two words for you. FUCK OFF!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:38 amIgnorant beeeatch.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:39 amMasquerading with a shot gun….NOT FOOLING ME…I am sure she would like to tramp on the 2nd Amendment!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:48 amThis dyke has a very large strap-on I would imagine.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:52 amStupid and ugly…
June 18th, 2008 at 7:55 amHow the hell did she ever get elected?
June 18th, 2008 at 8:07 amKeep on smiling you idiot - you’ll soon be crying when your state is overrun by illegals and flat broke trying to pay their way
June 18th, 2008 at 8:08 amYou’ll find liberals parading with hunting guns till the cows come home.
You’ll NEVER SEE THEM WITH A .45
IN HAND OR SHOOTING A M1A !
June 18th, 2008 at 8:52 amGood for her. Fuck a national ID system.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:19 amSo another Dem against a program designed to improve security. There’s a suprise. Having read the REAL ID Act it is in no way a NATIONAL ID program. It requires the states to verify the information presented (name, SSN, address, DOB, etc.) as well as citizen/immigration status and requires the ID to be tamper proof. Also requires that the people that have access to create the ID’s have a clearance. So no new database’s just requiring those state employee’s to do a little more work to verify information already available.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:24 amFreedom or security. Tough choice. But in this case, I don’t buy the argument that a national id would make us safer. But a national id would add another level of government control.
Note that her issue is simply cost to the state, *not* whether the national id should be implemented.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:07 pmWhat if:
It was required by law that all persons seeking employment in the US were required to show this ID to ensure employees were not hiring illegal aliens with stolen SS #? Also required by law to ALL businesses to show PROOF of this ID was obtained from the intended hired employee? IF such an ID is not provided upon hire, the person seeing employment could not be hired?
Would you back it then?
June 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pmWell to AZ it WOULD be a HUGE expense…drivets license’s are good till your 65(unless you fuck up and loose it)So basically EVERYBODY would have to get a whole new license,and if the federal government didnt pay for that,AZ would be fucked with an expense the have never had to budget for.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:20 pm