House Moves Closer to Rejecting Real ID

A bill that that would direct Pennsylvania not to comply with the Federal Real ID Act is awaiting a final vote in the House. The federal law was passed in 2005 to standardize states' driver's licenses and would require common data and the inclusion of biometrics, which is a computerized face scan that can be translated into data.

Sam Rohrer, Republican State Representative of Bucks County, says he has a number of serious concerns related to Real ID, including the incursion of the federal government on states' rights, identity theft, the cost of implementation, and, most of all, the invasion of privacy. He says the Rendell administration and PennDot have a contract with a company that has been collecting biometric data through the issuance of driver's licenses since 2006. A number of states have rejected Real ID, and Pennsylvania may soon join their ranks.