SR 18, introduced yesterday in the Oklahoma Legislature by state Sen. Kendal Sacchieri (R-Blanchard) would re-affirm the right of Oklahoma residents to choose to have driver’s licenses and state IDs that don’t comply with the Federal REAL-ID Act — and not to have data about those noncompliant licenses shared with Federal agencies without a warrant.

“Sixty percent of Oklahomans have declined to participate in the federal REAL ID system,”  Sen. Sacchieri noted in introducing SR 18. “Senate Resolution 18 is about protecting Oklahomans’ privacy and preserving their freedom to choose. We affirm our citizens’ right to opt out of the federal REAL ID system, and we must also ensure their personal information remains secure. This resolution calls for a real, uncoerced choice — without unnecessary exposure of private data.”

According to the proposed resolution:

WHEREAS, the State of Oklahoma does provide an option for Oklahomans to choose between a REAL ID-compliant or a REAL ID-noncompliant driver license or identification card; and

WHEREAS, this choice provides a distinction without a difference as the state, in fact, collects, stores, and shares all applicants’ personal and sensitive biometric information in exactly the same manner for both the REAL ID-compliant and the REAL ID-noncompliant option.

Oklahoma is one of the states  (along with others including California and Illinois) that doesn’t participate in the so-called State-to-State (S2S) data network operated by the American Association of  Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

In addition to transmitting data from to state, S2S also transmits license and ID records to and from AAMVA’s national ID database, SPEXS. States that want to participate in S2S or be compliant with the REAl-ID Act are required to upload information about all driver’s licenses they have issued — including “noncompliant” licenses — to SPEXS.

“The Oklahoma State Senate recognizes that Oklahomans opting out of REAL ID understand the limitations for federal purposes of the REAL ID-noncompliant driver license or identification card, and they expect in return that their personal information will not be shared with the federal government absent a court-approved warrant,” according to the resolution proposed by state Sen. Sacchieri.

Individuals who have chosen a “noncompliant” license or state ID undoubtedly think that they have opted out of having their information included in a national ID database. But in most states, although not (yet) in Oklahoma, they would be wrong.

Federal and state agencies and AAMVA collude in the deceptive cover story that SPEXS isn’t a “Federal” database because it’s operated by a “private” entity, AAMVA, and not a Federal agency.   But the only reason for the creation of the SPEXS national ID database was to enable states to comply with the Federal REAL-ID Act. And as a nominally private entity, AAMVA isn’t subject to the Privacy Act, the Freedom Of Information Act, or any of the other accountability or transparency laws that apply to Federal or state government agencies. SPEXS is less controlled than a government-operated national ID database would be.

Whether states like Oklahoma that have not yet done so will join S2S and upload information about state residents to SPEXS , and if so, whether they will include information about noncompliant licenses, are among the most important state decisions that will affect the future of the REAL-ID Act and its impact on all Americans.

We welcome Oklahoma SR 18, and we hope that Oklahoma stays out of S2S and SPEXS.