Identity crisis: 'Real ID' controversy heats up.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 March 2006
• Author: Magnuson, Stew

Lines are being drawn in the battle over what new standards will be put in place when the Real ID Act of 2005 goes into effect two years from now.

The law, a rider to a defense appropriations bill last year, calls for states to comply with national standards for drivers' licenses by May 2007. Key will be the requirement for a uniform "machine-readable technology" that will store the bearer's data.

Since the law does not specify which machine-readable system will be employed, the task of sorting out the different technologies available falls to the Department of Homeland Security, which is undertaking the rulemaking process this year. Many states currently use magnetic strips to store information on drivers' licenses, but these strips...