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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The REAL ID Act of 2005 was enacted by the United |
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States Congress as part of a broad supplemental appropriations |
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package relating to homeland security issues; the Act requires all |
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50 states to validate primary documents used to obtain a driver's |
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license or identification card and to issue licenses and ID cards in |
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a uniform, federally approved format if the licenses and cards are |
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to be accepted as identity documents by the federal government; and |
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WHEREAS, The total cost for the initial implementation of the |
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new regulations has been estimated to be $9.9 billion, though to |
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date Congress has appropriated only a fraction for the effort; |
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given the expense of the program and the minor Congressional |
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contribution, the REAL ID Act is effectively an unfunded mandate, |
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as federally approved identification is required for a United |
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States citizen to board a commercial airplane, make transactions |
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with a federally licensed financial institution, enter a federal |
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building, or apply for federally supported public assistance, such |
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as Social Security; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition to unease about expense, provisions of |
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the REAL ID Act raise concerns about data security and possible |
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identity theft; the Act requires statewide databases to be |
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integrated and shared with the federal government, but does not |
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establish clear security standards for the network nor designate an |
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entity to control access to the system; and |
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WHEREAS, These ambiguities in the legislation make it more |
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likely that information about a driver's license or ID card holder |
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could be illegally accessed through another state's less secure |
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system, creating a vulnerability where none currently exists and |
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increasing the likelihood of the very threat the program was |
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designed to minimize; furthermore, some states' officials have |
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pointed out that their computer systems are not even capable of |
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verifying documentation as required by the Act; and |
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WHEREAS, The negative implications of the federal |
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regulations are raising concerns nationwide, with 43 states |
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currently considering legislation questioning, opposing, or |
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refusing to carry out the requirements of the REAL ID Act; |
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considering the obvious fiscal consequence to Texas and the |
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considerable flaws inherent in the federal requirements, it is |
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incumbent on the State of Texas to act likewise; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby refuse to implement the federal REAL ID Act of 2005; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution |
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be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
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the Congress of the United States of America. |