Due to increasing pressure from constituents, the Legislative Commission’s Subcommittee to Review Regulations refused to consider the Department of Motor Vehicle’s (DMV) proposed regulation to make REAL ID permanent in Nevada. Instead, the DMV agreed to present a new version of the regulation this Friday, April 23rd at 9am that would give Nevadans the opportunity to choose between REAL ID-compliant or non-compliant identification cards.

Although REAL ID went nowhere, during the 2009 Legislature, this federally mandated and underfunded de facto national identification card was recently revived and enacted by Governor Gibbons through “emergency” regulation. Despite the ACLU of Nevada’s urging against the implementation of REAL ID on privacy and due process grounds, the Nevada DMV began temporarily issuing REAL ID-compliant licenses and identification cards in the beginning of 2010.

The Government Could Track Your Every Move.
The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is studying ways to replace the fuel tax with a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) program in order to charge drivers for the number of miles they travel rather than the fuel they consume. NDOT will be holding public information meetings to present their proposals and get feedback from the public (see below for more information).

After the 2009 Legislature, the ACLU of Nevada thought that REAL ID was dead - at least until the next legislative session. We were therefore surprised when Governor Gibbons decided in December of 2009 to unilaterally enact "emergency" regulations that would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of Nevada to begin issuing REAL ID-compliant identification cards.

Gov. Jim Gibbons recently announced that he is reconsidering a plan -- already rejected by the 2009 Legislature -- to install a surveillance net of cameras throughout Nevada's roadways to catch "insurance scofflaws." The plan's efficacy is questionable at best. All we know for sure is that it would be a big step forward to making Nevada a surveillance state.

Call Senator Reid and Senator Ensign today and tell them to oppose PASS ID (S. 1261), Senator Akaka's "Real ID-Lite"!

Real ID has reared its ugly head again, this time in the form of Senator Akaka's PASS ID Act (S. 1261) in the Senate.  While this bill stems from a sincere attempt to fix the unworkable Real ID Act of 2005, PASS ID actually re-institutes many of Real ID’s problems, and in some cases makes them even worse.  Real ID cannot be solved by tinkering around the edges of the act.  Instead, the entire unworkable system must be scrapped and replaced with a system that does not endanger Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, such as the “negotiated rulemaking” process that brings together stakeholders to hash out wise and realistic improvements to driver’s license.

The ACLU of Nevada is thrilled to report that the bill to bring Nevada in line with the federal REAL ID Act is dead. Although the Senate voted 12 to 9 on the bill on early Monday, it was not voted on by the Assembly before its adjournment.