Real ID vs. Jim Guest in Missouri

Jim Guest takes on Federal ID attempts Missouri 4-28-08
c/o StJoenews.net Political Punch Column

Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, goes before a Senate committee this evening to push Missouri away from federal regulations for driver’s licenses.

Mr. Guest for more than a year has led a nationwide coalition of legislators against the Real ID Act of 2005, a congressional response to security breaches from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Northwest Missouri Republican, however, contends the feds are going too far, citing privacy and identity theft concerns.


States have until December 2009 to comply with one of the 18 Real ID benchmarks – to validate that residents are legally present in the United States before issuing them a license, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Full compliance comes in December 2014 for residents 50 and younger. Residents 50 and older have until 2017. Driver’s licenses in states that don’t comply with the benchmarks will not be accepted as valid forms of identification when boarding airplanes or entering certain federal buildings.

Mr. Guest at 6 p.m. will try to convince a Senate committee to prohibit the Missouri Department of Revenue of complying with Real ID. His HB 1716 would stop the state from “amending any procedures for applying for a driver's license or identification card in order to comply with the standards of the federal Real ID Act of 2005,” under the bill’s summary available at www.house.mo.gov. The House of Representatives passed the bill, 138-3, earlier this month. It needs success in the Senate committee and an up vote in the Senate before Gov. Matt Blunt can sign it into law.

Below is information outlining the 18 federal ID benchmarks, which a homeland security spokeswoman, Amy Kudwa in Washington, provided to the News-Press this afternoon:

1 § 37.11(a) Subject each applicant to a mandatory facial image capture and retain such image even if a driver license (DL) or identification card (ID) is not issued
2 § 37.11(b) Have each applicant sign a declaration under penalty of perjury that the information presented is true and correct, and retain this declaration pursuant to § 37.31.
3 § 37.11(c) (1) Require an individual to present at least one of the source documents listed in subsections (i) through (x) when establishing identity
4 § 37.11(d)-(g) Require documentation of:
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• Address of principal residence
• Evidence of lawful status
:: FULL STORY HERE::