Attorney General Tim Fox Joins With Senators Tester And Daines Demanding Repeal of REAL ID Act
On Thursday, both Montana Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines re-introduced legislation to repeal federal mandates for drivers licenses included in the REAL ID Act of 2005.
In addition, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has once again added his voice in opposition to the act.
"Back in 2007 the Montana Legislature unanimously passed a law that was signed by then-Governor Schweitzer prohibiting the State of Montana from complying with REAL ID," Fox said. "The act requires that the state share personal and private information concerning Montanans with the federal government. As you know, the federal government has not had a good track record of protecting our private information."
Fox said Montana's drivers licenses are some of the most secure in the country.
"Our drivers licenses are secure, some of the most secure in the nation," Fox said. "But we still have an issue of sharing personal and private information with the federal government. In addition, REAL ID was an unfunded mandate, costing the states millions of dollars to comply. So, I was happy to join Senators Tester and Daines to announce this new effort to bring legislation in Congress to repeal the REAL ID act of 2005. I think we can get it dome this time around. I think we can get it through the HOuse and the Senate, and have President-elect Trump sign it."
Last November, Homeland Security announced in a letter to Montana Governor Steve Bullock rejecting his request to continue delaying the implementation of the Real ID act, passed in 2005.
The letter stated that starting January 30, Montana residents would no longer be allowed to use their drivers licenses to access military bases, power plants and all federal facilities. In addition, beginning in 2018, a Montana drivers license would no longer be acceptable identification for boarding a commercial aircraft.