Following is comprehensive information on current issues that AAMVA is tracking.
REAL ID ACT (H.R. 1268)
The REAL ID Act was signed into law in May 2005 requiring all U.S. jurisdictions to follow new driver's license and personal identification (DL/ID) cards issuance and document standards. The intent of the Act is to create documents that are acceptable for official federal purposes (e.g., boarding an airplane, entering federal facilities). The Act sets minimum standards for the creation and issuance of the documents by motor vehicle agencies. A rulemaking process by the Department of Homeland Security will further define the minimum standards set in the Act.
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Unified Carrier Registration (UCR)
Last year’s highway reauthorization bill (P.L. 109-59) contained provisions repealing the Single State Registration System (SSRS) on January 1, 2007, and replacing it with a new Unified Carrier Registration System (UCR). SSRS is a program in which for-hire carriers of passengers or property are required to register their Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) operating authority and proof of insurance with their base state. The UCR expands on the SSRS program to include not only for-hire interstate carriers but also all motor carriers including private carriers, brokers, freight-forwarders and leasing companies. The UCR is not expected to be in place until well into 2007. Congress must extend the repeal of SSRS by one year until January 1, 2008.
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Sex Offender Registration
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Section 636(1) of Public Law 109-248) requires the General Accountablity Office (GAO) to study the feasibility of using driver's license registration processes as additional registration requirements for sex offenders. The study requires surveying the states to assess the capabilities to comply with a federal law that required all state driver's license systems to automatically access state and national databases of registered sex offenders. The GAO will study the potential costs to the states if such a federal law came into effect and what level of federal grants would be required to prevent an unfunded mandate. The language came from an amendment introduced by Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) and provisions are based on a Nevada law that requires the DMV to issues driver's licenses to registered sex offenders for a one-year period. The GAO will also evaluate if the provisions are effective in increasing the registration compliance rate of sex offenders, the aggregate direct and indirect costs to bring those provisions into effect; and how those provisions might be modified to improve compliance by registered sex offenders.
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Voting Reform
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA–P.L.107-252) requires individuals registering to vote to provide a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security Number. HAVA also specifies that a state election official and motor vehicle authority must match the information in the registration database with that in the driver’s license database. In addition, HAVA requires the state motor vehicle agency to enter into an agreement with the Social Security Administration to verify voter registration information.
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