Tuesday, May 27, 2008
http://www.dailygazette.com

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The Associated Press
New driver's license gets federal OK for border crossing

ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson says the federal government has formally approved the state’s “enhanced” driver’s license, which can be used to cross the United States border without a passport.
The optional enhanced driver’s license will be available for use next summer when passports or approved driver’s licenses will be required for border crossings, including entry into Canada.
New Yorkers will have to provide proof of citizenship to apply for the enhanced license at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
The license was a fallback for former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was stopped last year in his bid to make it easier for illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses.
The new, 8-year licenses will add $30 to the $50 cost of reissuing a license.

The state has just found another way of separating more of our money from our wallets.

Bend over and 'feel' safer and less vulnerable while doing it......

http://www.dailygazette.com

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CAPITAL REGION
State to issue drivers new enhanced licenses
BY EDWARD MUNGER JR. Gazette Reporter

    Officials are preparing to perform fingerprinting and background checks on clerks as part of plans to issue the new Enhanced Driver’s License for New York residents by the end of this summer.
    The new licenses, called EDLs for short, are touted as a cheaper alternative to getting a passport.
    State officials in May announced an agreement with the federal Department of Homeland Security which allows New York to issue the licenses which are expected to make border crossing easier for businesses while helping citizens comply with federal passport requirements.
    Starting on June 1, 2009, the federal government will require New York residents to provide a passport or an EDL when entering the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
    The EDL will cost $30 more than a standard driver’s license which costs $50 to renew or up to $85 for a new one, depending on one’s age.
    The $85 cost for an original license is collected from people aged 17 to 17ÿ1D2, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles’ Web site.
    A passport costs $100.
    The EDL will be valid for eight years, as is a regular state driver’s license, officials said.
    The idea for the licenses, which will include a radio frequency identification tag, grew out of the post-Sept. 11 border security concerns, so clerks involved in collecting applications for the EDLs will have to undergo fingerprinting and background checks.
    The checks are part of an agreement between the state and the federal Homeland Security.
    Montgomery County Clerk Helen Bartone provided an update to county legislators Tuesday, and said she discussed the requirement with staff at the DMV offi ce in Fonda already.
Seven people will be impacted by the requirement in the Fonda office, Bartone said.
Bartone said the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department will perform the fingerprinting and background checks, and said the state will pay for it.
Bartone said the background checks cost $110.
The state Division of Criminal Justice Services, once it completes its review of the fingerprints, will forward them onto the FBI for a federal check, according to program documents.
    Schenectady County Clerk John J. Woodward said the new background check procedure will affect about 16 people in the department.
    Woodward said he sees the requirement as a way for the government to instill public confidence in the process of collecting information for the new licenses.
    Woodward said the new license could represent a cheaper alternative to people uninterested in getting a passport, but said he’s not expecting many people to come looking for one.
    “A lot of people already have a passport,” Woodward said.
    “I’m not really sure how much of this business we’re going to have, but we’re getting ready to offer this service to constituents,” Woodward said.
    Woodward said many people in government work, those who seek pistol permits and substitute teachers are among those he believes routinely undergo the background check and fingerprinting process.
    “It’s becoming much more of a commonplace thing,” Woodward said.
    Felonies found during a search of a clerk’s background would disqualify them from processing the EDLs, Woodward said.
    Information obtained from that check would be locked in a fi le in case the state sought proof of the check in the future, Woodward said.
    When the state Division of Criminal Justice Services performs fingerprint checks, the fi ngerprints themselves are scanned and compared with those in the system to see if they match the fingerprints of felons.
    If there are no matches, officials will get “no report.” If there are, the officials requesting the check will be notified, DCJS spokesman John Caher said.
    Caher said the agency maintains the fingerprints in a file, and if a match from elsewhere comes up in the future, those requesting the background checks are notified.
    People whose fingerprints are stored with DCJS in this manner have to make a formal request that the records be expunged if they get another job, Caher said.
    Residents looking to get the new license, which is optional, have to provide a variety of information, according to the state DMV Web site.
    At its simplest, the process requires an applicant to produce his or her current New York State driver’s license, birth certifi cate, a Social Security card and two forms of proof of residency, according to DMV.
    Proofs of residency include jury duty notices issued within a year, a property deed, property or school tax bills and other documents.
    The new EDL is expected to speed up border crossings with the help of a radio frequency identification tag.
    Similar to devices used in car keys, highway toll tags and security access cards, the RFID tags to be inserted into all the new enhanced driver’s licenses will allow border crossing guards and other government officials to read the cards remotely.
    State DMV Spokesman Ken Brown said the tag will only hold a single number.
    “The chip itself won’t contain personal information,” Brown said.
    The number the tag holds, when entered into a database, will bring up the information found on the face of the enhanced driver’s license, including the person’s photograph, address and other information, Brown said.
    Officials are hoping to get the enhanced drivers licenses available by the end of this summer.
    More information about the enhanced drivers license can be found on the state Department of Motor Vehicles Web site at http://www. nydmv.state.ny.us.

WOW!!! WE REALLY GOTTA BE STUPID!!!! AND THERE IS NO CURE FOR STUPID!!!!  DUH---TIMOTHY MCVEIGH ANYONE??? SON OF SAM???

WTF ARE WE THINKING?????


ORWELLIAN THOUGHTS??????

WAKE UP FOLKS!!!!!!!!

THERE IS NO PROTECTION OR SAFETY FROM IDIOT CRAZY SCUMBAGS----THERE IS ONLY THE QUICK JUDGEMENT AND PUNISHMENT FOR SUCH ACTIONS......ANYTHING ELSE IS LIKE THE BEST KEPT SECRET AT ROSEWELL AREA 51, CROP CIRCLES OR WHAT EVER......

this is truly the beginning of the end.....sorry, it didn't work out as the hippies planned-----or did it...... >

http://www.dailygazette.com

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New drivers’ licenses available
Will be accepted instead of passports at Canadian border
BY CAROLYN THOMPSON The Associated Press

    BUFFALO — New York drivers can begin applying Tuesday for an enhanced driver’s license that will comply with tighter travel controls adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
    The state becomes the nation’s second, after Washington state, to offer licenses that can be shown at the U.S. border instead of a more expensive passport.
    The optional license will include a picture and radio frequency identification tag that can be scanned to verify a person’s identity. The RFID tag will not contain any personal information, only an assigned number, authorities said.
    Drivers, though, should be prepared to offer a stack of identifying paperwork when they apply for an EDL, and to spend an extra $30.
    Erie County Clerk Kathleen Hochul advises drivers to make sure they have what they need before heading into the auto bureau.
    “It’s actually surprising, there’s more information than people are going to think they need,” said Hochul, who anticipates her county will issue more enhanced driver’s licenses than most others because of its proximity to Canada.
    Those trading in a current driver’s license will need, in addition to the old license, a birth certifi cate or other proof of citizenship, their Social Security card and two proofs of New York residency, such as recent property tax bills or credit card statements. The documents will be scanned for authenticity, a step that will add 10 to 15 minutes to the application process.
    All of the licenses are produced in Albany and mailed to drivers.
    “It does take more time,” Hochul said. The tradeoff, she said, is preserving the ability to make spontaneous trips across the border to shop or dine when an oral declaration of citizenship and regular license is no longer enough to get through U.S. Customs.
    “That’s real important in an area like ours,” she said.
    The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, recommended by the 9/11 Commission, is intended to control movement across the U.S. border by verifying the citizenship and identity of everyone entering the United States by land, sea, or air from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
    The enhanced driver’s license will satisfy the land and sea requirements, which take effect June 1, 2009, but not for international air travel.
    To answer concerns about the ability of hackers to intercept RFID information from the new licenses, the state is mailing each one with a protective storage sleeve that prevents transmission, said DMV spokesman Ken Brown — who stressed that the only information contained in the tag is a number that would be meaningless except to Homeland Security agents.
    Gov. David Paterson has said the EDL will benefit the upstate economy by expediting trade and tourism travel between the United States and Canada. About 468,750 New York jobs are supported by Canada-U.S. trade and New York residents made 1.7 million visits to Canada in 2006, according to the state.
    The EDL, which like the current licenses will be valid for up to eight years, will cost about $80, compared with $50 for a basic license and $100 for a new passport.

I'm confused.  In the beginning of the article, it says that the EDL will cost an "extra $30."  At the end, it says it will cost "about $80."  Does this mean if one currently has a license, that one must only pay the difference?

If not, I don't see why people wouldn't just spring for the passport for an extra $20...this seems very strange to me, and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers are drawn in to get an EDL.

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The RFID tag will not contain any personal information, only an assigned number, authorities said.

This may be the case 'right now'....but I'm sure it will have 'all' of our info in the future. Looks like I won't be leaving the country anytime soon. (not that I even planned to)

National health care and a safety trigger to 'watch' those big bad insurance companies that are in trouble now and make sure the government isn't stealing or the big bad MD's stealing.......we'll see who will take that line and run with it.......