House speaks out against REAL ID Act

The Utah House has unanimously approved a resolution urging Congress to rethink a federal act aimed at bolstering driver's license security.

Before Friday's 66-0 vote in favor of HR2, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, said the REAL ID Act is an unfunded federal mandate that could create a national ID.

Nanette Rolfe, director of the Utah Driver License Division, said the concept of the REAL ID Act is positive because it creates more safeguards to ensure driver's license holders "are who they say they are."

However, she said, the state has yet to see any federal funding to implement the act, and the rules for compliance aren't set to be released until sometime between July and September. States have until May 2008 to comply. While there's been talk that the act could mean all states use the same template for identification, that won't be known until the rules are released, she said.

"The rules need to come out," Rolfe said. "How can we be preparing when we don't know what to prepare for."

The act could cost states $11 billion over five years, according to a study released last year by the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Rolfe said a rough estimate puts Utah's start-up costs at $2.5 million and $2.5 million ongoing.

"That's a very, very rough estimate on the shell," she said. "We don't know what the inside workings are."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com