DHS

It’s unfortunate that the ruckus over implementing REAL ID isn’t getting more press. The ill-designed law puts in place national driver’s license card standards and (so I gather, despite DHS statements to the contrary) information sharing requirements. Estimates vary, but a report compiled by the National Governor’s Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators places the five-year cost at over $11 billion. DHS funding is minimal.

The upshot is that several states seem to be fomenting a rebellion against the requirements. Most are solely concerned with the cost impositions of this unfunded mandate. Montana’s governor has other concerns (mentioned briefly on page 15 of the NGA report) regarding citizen privacy (definition: a quaint expectation that the government had no right to follow, watch, listen to, or otherwise impose its touch on citizens committing no wrongdoing).

The related Drivers Privacy Protection Act (1994):

[A]llows sharing of personal information with law enforcement officials, courts, government agencies, private investigators, insurance underwriters and similar businesses.

Quoted from NGA report. That anyone should be concerned about the federal government’s ability to safeguard private data is absolutely ridiculous.