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HR 3471 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To repeal title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005, to reinstitute section 7212 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which provides States additional regulatory flexibility and funding authorization to more rapidly produce tamper- and counterfeit-resistant driver’s licenses, and to protect privacy and civil liberties by providing interested stakeholders on a negotiated rulemaking with guidance to achieve improved 21st century licenses to improve national security.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

July 31, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. HODES, Mr. STARK, Mr. FILNER, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. GONZALEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concernedCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To repeal title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005, to reinstitute section 7212 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which provides States additional regulatory flexibility and funding authorization to more rapidly produce tamper- and counterfeit-resistant driver’s licenses, and to protect privacy and civil liberties by providing interested stakeholders on a negotiated rulemaking with guidance to achieve improved 21st century licenses to improve national security.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘REAL ID Repeal and Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2009’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. REPEAL.

Title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109-13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is repealed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. DRIVER’S LICENSES AND PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS.

(a) Definitions- In this section:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Driver’S LICENSE- The term ‘driver’s license’ means a motor vehicle operator’s license (as defined in section 30301(5) of title 49, United States Code).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD- The term ‘personal identification card’ means an identification document (as defined in section 1028(d)(3) of title 18, United States Code) issued by a State.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Standards for Acceptance by Federal Agencies-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) LIMITATION ON ACCEPTANCE- No Federal agency may accept, for any official purpose, a driver’s license or personal identification card newly issued by a State more than 2 years after the promulgation of the minimum standards under paragraph (2) unless the driver’s license or personal identification card conforms to such minimum standards.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) DATE FOR FULL CONFORMANCE-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) IN GENERAL- Except as provided under clause (ii), beginning on the date that is 5 years after the promulgation of minimum standards under paragraph (2), no Federal agency may accept, for any official purpose, a driver’s license or personal identification card issued by a State unless such driver’s license or personal identification card conforms to such minimum standards.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) ALTERNATIVE DATE FOR FULL CONFORMANCE- If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that it is impracticable for States to replace all State-issued driver’s licenses and personal identification cards before the deadline set forth in clause (i), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, may set a later, alternative deadline to the extent necessary for States to complete such replacement with reasonable efforts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) STATE CERTIFICATION-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) IN GENERAL- Each State shall certify to the Secretary of Homeland Security that the State is in compliance with the requirements of this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) FREQUENCY- Certifications under clause (i) shall be made at such intervals and in such a manner as the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Transportation, may prescribe by regulation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) AUDITS- The Secretary of Homeland Security may conduct periodic audits of each State’s compliance with the requirements of this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) MINIMUM STANDARDS- Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall by regulation, establish minimum standards for driver’s licenses or personal identification cards issued by a State for use by Federal agencies for identification purposes that shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) standards for documentation required as proof of identity of an applicant for a driver’s license or personal identification card;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) standards for the verifiability of documents used to obtain a driver’s license or personal identification card;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) standards for the processing of applications for driver’s licenses and personal identification cards to prevent fraud;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) standards for information to be included on each driver’s license or personal identification card, including (consistent with such regulations)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) the person’s full legal name;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) the person’s date of birth;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) the person’s gender;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) the person’s driver’s license or personal identification card number;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(v) a photograph of the person;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(vi) the person’s address of principal residence; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(vii) the person’s signature;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) standards for common machine-readable identity information to be included on each driver’s license or personal identification card, including defined minimum data elements;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) security standards to ensure that driver’s licenses and personal identification cards are--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) resistant to tampering, alteration, or counterfeiting; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) capable of accommodating and ensuring the security of a photograph or other unique identifier; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) a requirement that a State confiscate a driver’s license or personal identification card if any component or security feature of the license or identification card is compromised.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Negotiated Rulemaking-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Before publishing the proposed regulations required by subsection (b)(2) to carry out this title, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a negotiated rulemaking process pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) TIME REQUIREMENT- The process described in paragraph (1) shall be conducted in a timely manner to ensure that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) any recommendation for a proposed rule or report--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) is provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) includes an assessment of the benefits and costs of the recommendation; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) a final rule is promulgated not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) REPRESENTATION ON NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING COMMITTEE- Any negotiated rulemaking committee established by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include representation from--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the Department of Transportation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) among State elected officials;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) among State offices that issue driver’s licenses or personal identification cards; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) among interested parties, including experts in privacy protection, experts in civil liberties and protection of constitutional rights, experts in immigration law, experts in fraud detection, and experts in vital records management.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS- The regulations required by subsection (b)(2)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) shall facilitate communication between the chief driver licensing official of a State, an appropriate official of a Federal agency and other relevant officials, to verify the authenticity of documents, as appropriate, issued by such Federal agency or entity and presented to prove the identity of an individual;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) may not infringe on a State’s power to set criteria concerning what categories of individuals are eligible to obtain a driver’s license or personal identification card from that State;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) may not require a State to comply with any such regulation that conflicts with or otherwise interferes with the full enforcement of State criteria concerning the categories of individuals that are eligible to obtain a driver’s license or personal identification card from that State;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) may not require a single design to which driver’s licenses or personal identification cards issued by all States must conform;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) shall include procedures and requirements to protect the privacy rights of individuals who apply for and hold driver’s licenses and personal identification cards;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) shall include procedures and requirements to protect the Federal and State constitutional rights and civil liberties of individuals who apply for and hold driver’s licenses and personal identification cards;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) shall not permit the transmission of any personally identifiable information except for in encrypted format;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(H) shall provide individuals with procedural and substantive due process, including promulgating rules and rights of appeal, to challenge errors in data records contained within the databases created to implement this Act;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(I) shall not permit private entities to scan the information contained on the face of a license, or in the machine readable component of the license, and resell, share, or trade that information with any other third parties, nor shall private entities be permitted to store the information collected for any other than fraud prevention purposes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(J) shall not preempt State privacy laws that are more protective of personal privacy than the standards, or regulations promulgated to implement this Act;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(K) may provide for excluding from a driver’s license or personal identification card an address of principal residence in circumstances which justify such an exclusion, such as for reasons of personal security of domestic violence victims or judges or other law enforcement officials;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(L) shall not infringe on a State’s power to reasonably accommodate a person’s sincerely held religious belief in granting a driver’s license or personal identification card; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(M) shall not require verification of birth certificates until a nationwide system is designed and implemented to facilitate such verification.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Grants to States-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) ASSISTANCE IN MEETING FEDERAL STANDARDS- Beginning on the date a final regulation is promulgated under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall award grants to States to assist them in conforming to the minimum standards for driver’s licenses and personal identification cards set forth in the regulation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall award grants to States under this subsection based on the proportion that the estimated average annual number of driver’s licenses and personal identification cards issued by a State applying for a grant bears to the average annual number of such documents issued by all States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) MINIMUM ALLOCATION- Notwithstanding paragraph (2), each State shall receive not less than 0.5 percent of the grant funds made available under this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) SEPARATE FUNDING- Funds appropriated for grants under this section may not be commingled with other grant funds administered by the Department of Homeland Security and may not be used for any purpose other than the purpose set forth in paragraph (1).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Extension of Effective Date- The Secretary of Homeland Security may extend the date specified under subsection (b)(1)(A) for up to 2 years for driver’s licenses issued by a State if the Secretary determines that the State made reasonable efforts to comply with the date under such subsection but was unable to do so.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security $300,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2017 to carry out this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink