Maine Says Will Opt-Out of De Facto National I.D. Law

Maine's legislature overwhelmingly passed a resolution refusing to implement the REAL ID Act which requires states to standardize their drivers licenses according to federal standards, saying the bill would cost the state $185 milllion, turns the state into an extension of the federal government, and would invade privacy. The resolution also calls on Congress to repeal the rule, which was slid into a defense spending bill in 2005. Though the final standards have yet to be announced, after May 11, 2008, federal agencies won't accept non-compliant identification cards, which if the law weren't changed and Maine opted out would mean that Maine residents would have a very difficult time flying and couldn't enter federal courthouses, among other things.

"This is the beginning of the end of Real ID," said Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project. "The Real ID national ID scheme is pointless if one or more states refuse to participate, because the whole premise of the program is the creation of a single uniform national identity document and database."

Since this is only a resolution, Maine has not officially opted out, but the ACLU says statutory language is likely to be passed soon. At the end of the last session of Congress, Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and John Sununu (R-NH) introduced a bill that would rollback many of the rules in the REAL ID Act, a warning shot to the Administration that the issue would be in play in the Democrat-controlled Congress in 2007. Legislators in other states including Georgia, New Hampshire and Montana have also introduced anti-REAL ID bills.

Leaked rulemaking documents that have not yet been authenticated also show that Homeland Security is suggesting that a third party -- likely a private company -- will be handed the job of checking whether an applicant can actually get a license or not.

Joint Resolution Memorializing the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to Repeal the Real ID of 2005

WE, your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Legislature of the State of Maine now assembled, most respectfully present and petition the President of the United States and the United States Congress, as follows:

WHEREAS, the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 mandates an unfunded national driver's license on the people of Maine, and;

WHEREAS, implementation of REAL ID would cost Maine taxpayers approximately $185 million, and;

WHEREAS, the REAL ID national database will invite theft of identity and invasion of privacy, and;

WHEREAS, REAL ID will impose inconveniences and higher taxes on Mainers with no attendant benefit such as protections from terrorism; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED: that Maine State Legislature refuses to implement the REAL ID Act and thereby protest the treatment by Congress and the President of the states as agents of the federal government; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Maine State Legislature implores the United States Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act of 2005; and be it further

RESOLVED: That official copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States; the Honorable Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff; the Honorable John E. Baldacci, Governor of the State of Maine; Richard Cheney, President of the United States Senate; Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and each member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.