Monday, February 12, 2007

As the deadline approaches for compliance with the act, opposition to the mandate has grown. Late last month, the Maine Legislature became the first in the nation to pass a measure against the requirement, unequivocally refusing to implement the act and urging Congress to repeal it. Too expensive, too fast, too much of an invasion of privacy and too burdensome to administer, said a bipartisan coalition of Maine lawmakers. Estimate of the cost of compliance in Maine alone is $185 million.

The Legislature's rejection made news around the nation. What Maine started threatened to become a tidal wave of state opposition. In an effort to stem the momentum and salvage what she considers good about the requirement, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins Friday announced she's introducing legislation to delay implementation of the act and provide states with a more reasonable time frame for complying with its new standards for drivers' licenses. "The costs of complying with REAL ID are enormous and overly burdensome to states, including Maine," said Collins.

We agree. Collins' legislation puts the brakes on a mandate that raises significant concerns, as well as the broader question of whether the REAL ID would ultimately be effective. Her bill would give the Department of Homeland Security the ability to delay or waive REAL ID requirements if states don't have the technical capability to comply with it, or the money. It furthermore calls to the discussion table the right group of people to hammer out an alternative: federal and state officials, privacy advocates and others with a stake in the matter. We're encouraged that this senator, who has made her name as an advocate of effective and real security measures, has focused on finding a solution to the real problems posed by REAL ID.