By Ronald K. Chen

Historically, the central purpose of a driver’s license is to show that you have been certified by the state as qualified to drive. In New Jersey, our lawmakers and leaders have a duty to make sure it stays that way.

In the coming months, New Jersey will start implementing changes to driver’s licenses in accordance with the long-embattled federal Real ID Act. The looming 2019 deadline makes the creation of a license that works for all New Jerseyans even more urgent.

A new bill, A4743 in the Assembly and S3229 in the Senate, creates a license that would meet the basic needs of New Jerseyans without subjecting us to the harms of the Real ID Act. Unless our lawmakers act quickly to pass it, the privacy violations and bureaucratic nightmares of the federal Real ID Act will be inescapable for anyone who needs a license or state identification.

Because of sustained work from privacy and civil rights advocates, the Real ID Act is much reduced from its original 2005 incarnation, which would have created a near-mandatory de facto national identification program built on biometric data.

A national ID card system would not protect us from danger. Rather, it would create a system of internal passports that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of ordinary people. Once in place, it is exceedingly unlikely that such a system would be restricted to its original purpose.

Social Security numbers, for example, were originally only intended for uses directly related to the retirement program. Nearly a century later, that restriction is all but abandoned. A national ID system would gradually, but irrevocably, increase the control of government and business over individuals.

Since the Real ID Act’s introduction, advocates have pushed back, and those efforts continue. Fueled by concerns from privacy to policy, activists remain especially worried about the effect on marginalized communities. Students, immigrants, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and individuals experiencing homelessness are just some of the communities that would face obstacles to obtaining or producing the newly required documentation.

Although advocates have ensured that fewer people will require a Real ID-compliant license, implementation still poses significant threats to privacy, individual liberty and personal security.

To obtain a license for federal Real ID Act purposes, individuals must hand the government a cache of their most sensitive personal documents, bearing their name, date of birth, address and proof of Social Security number or equivalent residency verification. Most disturbingly, officials would electronically scan these documents and permanently store high-resolution copies in databases shared among law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

This information would instantly become a prime target for identity thieves and hackers. Both federal and state law require administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of the personally identifiable information stored under Read ID. However, no agency has yet produced even the most general assurances of such protections.

The list of official purposes requiring a Real ID Act-compliant license has diminished, making it superfluous for many. Anyone who doesn’t regularly board airplanes or enter federal buildings — apart from mandatory purposes like court dates — will generally not need a federally designated license as their basic identification.

In 2012, the ACLU-NJ temporarily halted the rollout of New Jersey’s TRU-ID driver’s license, the state’s previous attempt to comply with the Real ID Act. We ultimately convinced the Motor Vehicle Commission to scrap the TRU-ID program based on arguments rooted in many of today’s concerns.

As the Garden State marches toward Real ID Act compliance, questions remain. The Legislature, Motor Vehicle Commission and Gov. Phil Murphy have a responsibility to answer with sound public policy. One point remains especially clear: New Jersey must offer a standard basic driver’s license as a convenient, secure option.

The law expressly allows states to offer an alternative to Real ID Act-compliant licenses. By allowing New Jerseyans to keep a standard basic driver’s license, the state affirms our right of self-determination at a time when it is desperately needed.

It is imperative that our state keeps the primary purpose of our state ID as a certification of the ability to drive. Using state IDs for federal purposes will always be secondary. Providing the standard basic driver’s license — and with it the capability to opt out of the Real ID Act — is the only way for the Garden State to fulfill its responsibilities to comply with federal mandates while still honoring the rights of all New Jerseyans.

When it comes to our freedoms and privacy rights, all New Jerseyans need to be in the driver’s seat.

Ronald K. Chen is a distinguished professor of law at Rutgers Law School, member of the ACLU-NJ Board of Trustees and the former Public Advocate of New Jersey.

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