The REAL ID Act in Florida

The REAL ID Act in Florida : 

The REAL ID Act in Florida Presented by: Paul Henry Executive Director Floridians Against REAL ID Inc. www.liberty2010.org/realid Facebook: Floridians Against REAL ID Inc. Email: realid@liberty2010.org

What Happens When Congress Passes Legislation that Violates the Constitution? : 

What Happens When Congress Passes Legislation that Violates the Constitution? It is up to the state legislatures to stand up for the rights of the people. We’ve seen this recently in Florida and other states that have filed suit against the federal imposition of healthcare (not authorized in Article 1 Section 8).

What Happens When the States Fail to Stand up for Our Rights? : 

What Happens When the States Fail to Stand up for Our Rights? It is then up to the people to do so. This is similar to someone breaking into your house to steal your property or worse. You pay (via taxes) for police protection, but the police cannot be everywhere (nor should they be). For a law or rule to have meaning, it must be enforceable. If you drive 100 MPH down the road past an officer and they do not stop you, the speed limit has no effect. Likewise, the Constitution must be enforceable to be valid.

The History of the REAL ID Act : 

The History of the REAL ID Act Original 2005 congressional bill was HR 418 by Republican J. Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin HR 418 passed the house with a vote of 261-161 with 152 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and 1 Independent opposing. HR 418 was not enacted.

The History of the REAL ID Act : 

The History of the REAL ID Act Within a month of the failure of HR 418, the REAL ID Act was added as a rider to the “Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005” bill, HR 1268. HR 1268 was passed without any debate on the REAL ID Act, which was hidden within the bill.

The History of the REAL ID Act : 

The History of the REAL ID Act HR 1268 was passed by the House with a vote of 388-43 with 39 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 1 Independent opposing it. In the Senate it passed with a vote of 99-0, with one member not present. The bill was signed into law by George W. Bush on May 11, 2005.

The REAL ID Act Forces States To Issue Driver Licenses A Certain Way : 

The REAL ID Act Forces States To Issue Driver Licenses A Certain Way The numerous uses of the phrase “the State shall” dealing with the issuance of State driver licenses and ID cards in section 202 (b), (c) (1), (c) (2) (A), (c) (2) (B), (c) (3), (c) (3) (A), (c) (3) (B), (c) (3) (C) , (d), and (d) (5) are prima facie evidence that the federal government is mandating how the states issue driver licenses.

The REAL ID Act is Unconstitutional! : 

The REAL ID Act is Unconstitutional! The 10th Amendment states that Congress has certain powers reserved to it (see Article 1 Section 8). ALL other powers are reserved to the states, or to the people. Article 1 Section 8 contains no provisions authorizing Congress to dictate to a state how they issue their documents, such as driver licenses. A state driver license is NOT interstate commerce (a common dodge used by Congress). It’s made and sold within a state by the state.

The Stated Purposes Of The REAL ID Act : 

The Stated Purposes Of The REAL ID Act In Section 201 (3): OFFICIAL PURPOSE.—The term ‘‘official purpose’’ includes but is not limited to Accessing Federal facilities Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft Entering nuclear power plants Any other purposes that the unelected Homeland Security Secretary shall determine, i.e. banking?

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida : 

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida The 2008 Florida Legislature took up the REAL ID Act thanks to Republican Senator Carey Baker under SB 1992, which dealt with the DMV. A total of 4 sections out of 47 dealt with REAL ID. The staff summaries of these changes all stated “These changes are necessary to comply with the requirements of the REAL ID Act.”

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida : 

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida When we spoke to Sen. Baker in person about this in August 2010, he told us the act was intended to keep illegal aliens from getting a license. As mentioned earlier, this aspect was never identified in the staff reports. Many illegal aliens drive without a license. IF this was the purpose, it is a failure since they will drive anyway.

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida : 

The REAL ID Act Comes to Florida In the staff summary, in the area for “Constitutional Issues”, the reply was “None”. Florida’s legislature passed this bill in the House with a vote of 112-2 and in the Senate with a vote of 38-0. Several members were not voting. The law went into effect on January 1, 2010.

What You Have to Bring to the DMV : 

What You Have to Bring to the DMV Your birth certificate or passport Your social security card or paycheck stub with SSN on it TWO proofs of residence, such as a bank statement, utility hook up, mortgage coupon book, etc. See www.gathergoget.com for a complete list- but only after you put in some personal info!

What Happens To Your Papers? : 

What Happens To Your Papers? Under Section 202 (d) (1), electronic copies are stored. These copies are in a transferable format are input into a web-accessible database that other states have access to (202 (d) (12)). Under 202 (d) (2), paper copies or images are retained by the state.

What Does Our U.S. Constitution Say? : 

What Does Our U.S. Constitution Say? Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated… Amendment 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

What Does Our Florida Constitution Say? : 

What Does Our Florida Constitution Say? Article 1, Section 12 contains the exact same wording as the U.S. 4th Amendment. Article 1, Section 23 gives us the right to privacy: “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein.”

The REAL Risk Of Identity Theft : 

The REAL Risk Of Identity Theft Any police officer will tell you that the more often you commit a crime, the more likely you are to be caught. REAL ID places all of the documents an ID Thief needs in one location. There is no such thing as a secure web-accessible system. Hackers have broken into places such as the FBI and Dept. of Defense.

The REAL Risk Of Identity Theft : 

The REAL Risk Of Identity Theft The Florida DMV has a poor record of protecting the data of the citizens- in 2003 and 2004, it illegally sold driver information, and was sued by the Department of Justice for doing so. In 2009, seven employees were arrested for corruption in one incident in South Florida. They were bribed to do something they shouldn’t do.

REAL Victims Of The REAL ID Law : 

REAL Victims Of The REAL ID Law A U.S. citizen and Vietnam veteran born in the United Kingdom. His original birth certificate was deemed “not acceptable”. A 70-something adoptee, who has no birth certificate in their birth name but has been driving here for decades. Divorced women that cannot produce papers showing name changes. In Florida, after a license expires for 4 months, it is a crime to drive.

Who Opposes REAL ID? : 

Who Opposes REAL ID? The opposition ranges from anarchist to progressive to conservative groups. The ACLU opposes it (although they are not doing anything to get rid of it). See www.realnightmare.org for details. The Libertarian CATO Institute opposes it.

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? : 

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? Ask yourself if someone that is willing to fly an airplane into a building is concerned with having a driver license? If the issue is one of specificity, such as voting, then that needs to be addressed by the Supervisor of Elections without penalizing those that only want to drive. Ditto those that wish to fly commercially.

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? : 

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? Recently in the news was the story of the Russian spy that obtained a driver license using a forged passport. With the exception of the passport, none of the documents you have to provide have your picture on them. The best security against fraud are the photos that are already on file and viewable by the person issuing the license.

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? : 

Won’t REAL ID Prevent Terrorism And Voter Fraud? Under the new law, it is possible (just like under the old law) for someone to sell their documents to someone else (or for someone to steal them), and for that person to use them to obtain a license. The only way to detect this fraud are the photos that are already on file. REAL ID does not work in this respect.

Have All States Complied? : 

Have All States Complied? No! Around half have either filed legislation to specifically reject this law, or pushed back the date to implement it. The law adds expenses to states to purchase equipment in order to comply during a recession. Florida budgeted over $4 million in 2009-10 for REAL ID compliance. The law extends the expiration date of licenses, so there is less revenue coming in.

What Have We Tried? : 

What Have We Tried? We’ve contacted our Legislators. We’ve spoken to the Florida law’s author, Sen. Baker. None of them have given us more than lip service or a simple reply to an email. Most have simply blown us off. Keep in mind most of these people are career politicians, and voted FOR the law in 2008.

What Are We Doing? : 

What Are We Doing? We’re filing a lawsuit to obtain a declaratory judgment. What this means is that we want a court to rule that the state law is unconstitutional and as such unenforceable. We want the state to destroy all data collected from citizens since January 1. We’re requesting the voters of Florida let their representatives know they do not accept this law.

What Can You Do? : 

What Can You Do? The decision to render this information to the state is up to each individual. Some will refuse on principle, others will not be able to provide the documents due to various circumstances. You must support us financially by donating on our website, and by contacting your legislators. Please don’t just sit there and complain. Help us get this law reversed. There are about 12 million drivers here. We need less than a penny apiece from them to file our suit.

Floridians Against REAL ID Inc. : 

Floridians Against REAL ID Inc. We are a pending 501c4 Florida non-profit corporation. We are the sole group trying to do something about this law in Florida. Web: www.liberty2010.org/realid Facebook: Floridians Against REAL ID Inc. Email: realid@liberty2010.org Phone: 850-364-0221