Governors bristle at demands of Real ID

The National Governors' Association has issues a press release expressing unhappiness with the Real ID act, a requirement included in the recent military appropriation that requires states to turn drivers' licenses into national ID cards, within three years. The governors say the law "contains unreasonable burdens and unfunded mandates that are unworkable and counterproductive to its goals."

After meeting with Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff at the National Governors Conference, governors  emphasized that the rules for what the new cards would carry and  how they would be implemented should be designed in coordination with the states. The major concern seems to be about the cost and difficulty of carrying out the law. Governors intend to press Congress to fund the work needed.

A News.com article on the rule explains what's required in the new law:

What's going to be stored on this ID card?
At a minimum: name, birth date, sex, ID number, a digital photograph, address, and a "common machine-readable technology"   that Homeland Security will decide on. The card must also sport "physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes."

Homeland Security is permitted to add additional requirements--such as a fingerprint or retinal scan--on top of those. We won't know for a while what these additional requirements will be.