States say no to REAL ID.

A growing number of U.S. states are rejecting the REAL ID Act, a federal law passed in 2005 that mandates the creation of standardized driver's licenses nationwide in an attempt to thwart terrorism and ID theft.

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In January, a bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution rejecting the federal REAL ID Act, which requires states to participate in a national digital identification system for driver's licenses. The measure passed the Maine House and Senate with an overall vote of 171 to 4.

"Lawmakers in Maine under stand that security is a critical priority, but so is privacy and, most importantly, a security system should actually provide security," Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said in a release. "It is not at all clear that after all the expense and tribulation for citizens that REAL ID would present that we would really he safer."

As this publication went to press, lawmakers in five states--Georgia, Montana, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming--have voted in committee or on the floor of one chamber to move ahead legislation similar to Maine's, according to The New York Times. The bill adopted in a 99-to-1 vote by the Montana House of Representatives would go furthest, ordering state officials there to ignore the federal law.

Congress enacted REAL ID May 11, 2005. It establishes national standards and requirements that must be met by May 2008 if state-issued licenses and IDs are to be accepted as valid identification by the federal government. According to the Times, the law requires states to confirm that documents submitted to get driver's licenses--like a birth certificate or a passport--are legitimate and that the applicants are in the United States legally. States will also have to check a linked database of state licensing data to make sure that applicants do not already have a license in another state and that they have not been banned from driving elsewhere.

The act also requires that states "retain paper copies of source documents for a minimum of seven years, or images of source documents presented for a minimum of 10 years."

The law effectively requires that all existing licenses be replaced by 2013.

Critics say that because the law links driver's licenses and state ID cards to a national database, it could provide a treasure trove of personal data for identity thieves. Some also oppose a measure in the act that would effectively block illegal immigrants from acquiring federally compliant driver's licenses.

But these are not the biggest issues for states. The cost to implement the plan has been estimated at approximately $11 billion nationally. Projected costs for the state of Maine total $185 million over the program's first five years alone. Vermont passed a law that does not defy the federal statute but calls for more federal financial assistance to pay for its implementation.

States want Congress to repeal or modify the law, or at least provide them with some of the billions in funding it may require for them to create a new licensing system and issue new national licenses.

But the revolts may cause major headaches for rebelling states' residents if the REAL ID act is not revised. The Times reports that those noncompliant licenses--from states that have rejected REAL ID--will not be accepted as proof of identification at airports, federal facilities, or when applying for federal benefits.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisc.), who led the effort in Congress to pass REAL ID, told the Times that the Homeland Security department has been slow in publishing rules telling the states what they must do under the law and that has resulted in their resistance to it. (The Times reported that federal officials will release the final regulations this summer.) Sensenbrenner said the real costs for states nationwide would not exceed $100 million.

In response to states' complaints, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in March that it will grant an extension to December 31, 2009. States receiving extensions would have to submit proposed compliance schedules. DHS released a proposed rule seeking public comment on REAL ID'S compliance procedures. Meanwhile, House and Senate bills have been proposed to repeal at least some of REAL ID's requirements.