CHARLESTON -- Gov. Joe Manchin's office is asking lawmakers to hold off action on bills that would prevent West Virginia from complying with the federal REAL ID Act, saying that new rules recently enacted by the federal Department of Homeland Security have dramatically cut the cost of implementing it.
At least two bills have been introduced during the 2008 Legislature that would prohibit the state from cooperating with federal authorities in implementing the REAL ID Act. If either passed, West Virginia would join 17 states that already have said they would not comply or have passed resolutions expressing their concerns about the act.
Passage of either bill could mean that starting in May, West Virginia residents no longer would be able to use their driver's licenses to board airplanes or get into federal buildings, at least not without going through an extra layer of security.
Still, advocates of the legislation said that not only does the REAL ID Act raise serious privacy concerns, it would cost individual states millions of dollars to implement.
Estimates of the cost to West Virginia originally ranged anywhere from $20 million to $60 million. But during a hearing before the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 29, lawmakers were told that new rules recently enacted by the Department of Homeland Security cut that cost to $2 million and gave the state four more years to comply.
"Based on the revised rules and based on the extended timeline to implement the REAL ID Act ... we believe it would be premature to take a stance on this at this particular juncture," said James Spears, cabinet secretary for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety/Homeland Security.
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to fight terrorism and cut back on fraud by standardizing the information that appears on state driver's licenses.
Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff unveiled new rules that allow states to apply for a waiver to delay implementation of the REAL ID Act. Spears said West Virginia is going to apply for an extension, and the Governor's Office is asking lawmakers not to take action on the bills this session.
Regardless, state driver's licenses already comply with the new rules, Spears said. That and an extended timeline for complying with certain provisions of the act have cut the state's cost significantly because it no longer is looking at hiring as many as 100 employees to implement it.
Most of the $2 million will be used to create a digital database to store personal information required under the act. While critics have raised concerns about privacy given such systems, Spears wasn't sure West Virginia residents would see any differences after the act is implemented.
"My understanding is we already require certain documents to be presented to us now" when getting a driver's license, he said. "So it really wouldn't be any more of an infringement upon a person's rights because we are already requiring documents, such as proof of legal residence."
Opponents still are lining up against the REAL ID Act because of concerns about privacy.
Sue Julian, team coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, pointed to a recent case where a U.S. Department of Commerce special agent was charged with using a Department of Homeland Security database to track his girlfriend's movements.
"REAL ID will make it so much easier for batterers and stalkers to track victims of domestic violence," she said.
Seth DiStefano, community organizer and lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, said Spears didn't factor in the cost to individuals that would come with compliance. That cost would come in more time needed to hunt down the necessary documents to get a license as well as lost work time.
He also said the Department of Homeland Security is underestimating the cost of implementing the act for states, saying it is basing its revised figures on an estimate that 25 percent of people won't bother to get REAL ID-compliant licenses.
