Feds push new national identification card program after "Real ID" flops

c/o Scientific American

Pass ID is expected to retain many elements of Real ID, such as requiring a digital photograph, signature and machine-readable features such as a bar code, The Washington Post reported in June. States also will still need to verify applicants' identities and legal status by checking federal immigration, Social Security and State Department databases. One concern is that states, after footing the bill to set up these national ID programs, may also have to pay ongoing fees to continue accessing these databases (anywhere from five to 50 cents per transaction), Molly Ramsdell, senior policy director of the NCSL's state-federal relations division, said during Wednesday's briefing.

But Pass ID would eliminate the need for states to create new databases linked through a national data hub that would allow all states to store and cross-check such information, according to the Post. Pass ID would also cut the requirement that motor vehicle departments verify birth certificates with originating agencies.

If Pass ID becomes law, Homeland Security would have nine months to write new regulations, and states would have five years to reissue all licenses, with completion expected in 2016. (The Real ID program would have achieved this by the end of 2017.) :::MORE HERE:::