Real Opposition • Alessandra Soler Meetze (left), executive director of the Arizona ACLU, and Sen. Karen Johnson, a Republican from Mesa, spoke out against REAL ID in a December news conference at the Capitol.

Arizona has joined other states in a revolt against the federal Real ID Act.
But the move, if not reversed, would have “real consequences” for the state’s residents, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A department spokesperson said Arizona’s residents would not be able to get through security at airports in order to board planes, unless they present alternative documentation, such as a passport or a military ID.
Gov. Janet Napolitano signed a measure on June 17 to prohibit the state from implementing the federal law that creates new standards for driver’s licenses in an effort to bolster security at airports and federal facilities.
“My support of the Real ID Act is, and has always been, contingent upon federal funding,” Napolitano wrote in a letter accompanying her signature on H2677. “Absent that, the Real ID Act becomes just another unfunded federal mandate.”
The governor’s decision is a victory for groups representing a broad political spectrum that have formed an unlikely coalition to oppose the federal law. It also provides a boost as they seek to have the federal law revisited.
Critics of Real ID hope that states’ decision to opt out will help persuade the federal government to revisit the law.
“Arizona is not alone,” said Dan Pochoda, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. A growing number of states have already gone on record to oppose Real ID, he said. “We think obviously that this is a program that will have to be rethought by the federal government and the next administration.”
Napolitano, at a press briefing on June 18, said Arizona is one of nearly a dozen states “moving in the same direction” against Real ID. But she pointed out that the effect of the state’s opt out is “nothing,” as the federal law won’t go into effect for another few years.
Napolitano noted in her letter that Real ID has been “riddled with problems, both technical and policy-oriented.”
She noted that it took the U.S. Department of Homeland Security more than two years to issue final rules on the driver’s license provisions of the federal law passed in 2005, and pointed out that the implementation deadline has been delayed until 2011 — and as far off as 2017 under certain circumstances.
The ACLU and other groups that opposed the federal law have argued that it would intrude on people’s privacy. The national ACLU praised Napolitano’s decision to sign the bill prohibiting the state from complying with Real ID.
“Governor Napolitano has joined a nationwide movement against Real ID,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. “Arizona has become the 10th state to pass legislation prohibiting compliance. The governor’s action today sends a strong and clear message that the people of Arizona will not stand for the Department of Homeland Security trampling on their right to privacy.”
According to the ACLU, some 17 states passed either resolutions or statutes against the federal law in 2007; seven have opted out altogether. This year, Arizona joins Idaho and Alaska, which have rejected Real ID through legislation.
The governor’s strongest objection to the federal law is the absence of funding from Washington, D.C.
Napolitano said the White House’s own budget estimates placed the cost of implementation at a minimum of $4 billion. But the federal government has set aside only $90 million so far, and the money has not been released, she said.
Laura Keehner, a press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said states were given an extension through December 2009 to take steps to comply with Real ID.
“If states have not gone through certain steps in order to secure the process by which their identification is distributed through the DMVs (departments of motor vehicles) then they will see real consequences,” Keehner said. “Residents would suffer.”
“The other thing to keep in mind is that people forget why this is important,” she said. “People need to recognize that there is a reason for this. It is for the safety and security of the American people.”
Keehner said Real ID was never intended to be paid for solely by the federal government. The department’s Web site states that the issuance of driver’s licenses and ID cards is a state function; their cost is to be born primarily by states — and Real ID does not alter that responsibility. 
States are not required to participate in the federal program. But if they don’t, the driver’s licenses and other identification cards they issue will be rejected by the federal government for official purposes, such as when entering federal facilities or boarding federally regulated commercial planes.
Residents of non-participating states can present other forms of identification, such as a U.S. passport or a military ID.
Napolitano wants 3-in-1
While Arizona is opting out of Real ID, Napolitano said she wants the state to pursue her “3-in-1” ID proposal.
Under the proposal, the 3-in-1 ID would be a driver’s license, a document that can serve as an alternative to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for border crossings and a verification of legal status, which could be accepted by employers as proof that a person is authorized to work in the U.S.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative implements a congressional requirement that all U.S. citizens — as well as other travelers from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda — must carry a passport or other approved document that establishes identity and nationality to enter the United States. The requirements become effective next year.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security already has designated the state of Washington’s driver’s license to be compliant with the travel initiative.  
Napolitano said Real ID should not be confused with the 3-in-1 Enhanced Driver License Program.
“While the 3-in-1 Enhanced Driver License proposal referenced the Real ID Act, it did only insofar as implementation of the Real ID Act was practicable,” the governor said. “Absent federal funding, implementation of the Real ID Act is not practicable and, thus, the 3-in-1 Enhanced Driver License Program must proceed on its own.”
She urged the Legislature to authorize the proposal.
“I hope that we can persuade them to open their minds,” she said during the weekly press briefing. “It makes an awful lot of sense. So now that Real ID is off the table, I hope that they will revisit that.”
But the Legislature’s most ardent critics of Real ID are rebuffing the governor’s proposal.
“I think what she is going to do is claim that her 3-in-1 ID card is not Real ID,” said Sen. Ron Gould, a Republican from Lake Havasu City who has been a critic of both Real ID and the governor. “So, there is no downside to her signing a bill that prohibits Arizonans to go into the Real ID system.”
But Gould said Napolitano’s 3-in-1 ID presents the same problem as Real ID if, for example, the governor decides to share that information with other states.
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p;Rep. Judy Burges, author of H2677,  hailed the governor’s decision, but said she would “absolutely not” support authorization of the governor’s proposal.
“We don’t need a 3-in-1 ID,” echoed state Sen. Karen Johnson, a Republican from Mesa who has been another leading critic of Real ID. “I don’t want anything that would ever require an RF (radio frequency) ID chip which is a tracking device. I don’t want a database, even if it’s just an Arizona database. It may start out that way, but it will end up a national (database), and soon you will have Mexico and Canada and who knows what other country that will have access to it.”
Johnson said she refuses to be “tagged and numbered,” arguing that requiring people to carry papers takes away their freedom.
Bipartisan opposition
Last year, the ACLU’s local chapter, the John Birch Society and several lawmakers blasted the governor’s 3-in-1” ID plan last year.
Napolitano had signed a memorandum of agreement between Arizona and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that calls for the state to take steps to comply with Real ID. Napolitano agreed to work with the federal agency to design an enhanced identification card.
According to the agreement, Arizona will take steps to “become Real ID compliant as soon as practicable after the Real ID final rulemaking is published.” But Napolitano has countered that the agreement was predicated on federal funding for Real ID, which hasn’t materialized.
The agreement had several interlocking points. Arizona and DHS agreed to develop, issue and accept an enhanced driver’s license. The ID will contain citizenship information. DHS will propose that the enhanced ID be accepted as an alternative to a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative document when crossing borders.
One part deals with the Real ID; DHS expects the requirements for Arizona’s “enhanced driver’s license to align with Real ID requirements.”
Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of ACLU Arizona, has said the group’s opposition centers on a belief it would intrude on individuals’ privacy and make holders vulnerable to identity thieves.
“Real ID is a hopeless program that is in its final death throes, and DHS is trying to use this ‘enhanced’ driver’s license plan to revive it,” Soler Meetze wrote in a statement.
Bryan Turner of the John Birch Society said domestic restrictions resulting from the proposed ID are “hallmarks” of authoritarianism.
States had until May 11 to comply with Real ID requirements, but Arizona has been granted an extension until December 2009.
— Capitol Times researcher Tasya Grabenstein contributed to this article.