Tenn. Joins List of States Opposing Real ID

The list of states rebelling against the Real ID Act continues to increase. The Tennessee legislature last night voted to not comply with the Real ID Act of 2005 unless it is fully funded, according to a press release issued today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.

Tennessee becomes the 16th state to pass a resolution saying it will not comply with the law because the act requires each state to spend millions of dollars on upgrading computer systems to meet the law's requirements, which include adding security features to driver's licenses such as bar codes and digital photographs to make it harder to obtain a fraudulent driver's license. The federal government will eventually require that Americans use the new licenses to gain entry to federal buildings, nuclear power plants and commercial airlines.

The resolution "urges the Tennessee congressional delegation to support measures to repeal the Real ID Act, and states that 'there be no implementation of the Real ID Act until full funding is provided by the federal government,'" according to the ACLU press release.