Reps. Tobocman, Byrnes, McDowell, Lindberg, Lahti, Accavitti, Hammel, Hammon, Bauer, LeBlanc, Wojno, Gillard, Sheltrown, Hildenbrand, Pastor, Farrah, Pearce, Mayes, Rick Jones, Stahl, Steil, Proos, Palsrok, Ball, Bieda, Booher, Brown, Calley, Condino, Constan, Dean, Espinoza, Gonzales, Hoogendyk, Huizenga, Johnson, Robert Jones, Lemmons, Sak, Alma Smith, Spade, Vagnozzi, Valentine, Brandenburg, Clack, Cushingberry, Leland, Meadows and Schuitmaker offered the following concurrent resolution:
House Concurrent Resolution No. 28.
A concurrent resolution to urge the United States Department of Homeland Security to continue to work with the states to coordinate driver's licenses with the new passport requirements to reenter the country from Canada.
Whereas, The state of Michigan denounces and condemns all acts of terrorism by any entity, wherever the acts occur; and
Whereas, Under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, by January 1, 2008, millions of Americans may be required to show passports when they reenter this country from Canada. This provision, known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), is intended to make it more difficult for terrorists to enter the United States. Currently, Americans only need to show a driver's license or a birth certificate when they reenter from Canada; and
Whereas, The Canada-United States border is the most important international economic development relationship in the country and an integral part of Michigan's economic growth. More than 300,000 business people, truck drivers, tourists, and regular commuters, and $1.1 billion in goods on average travel daily between the two nations; and
Whereas, The requirements of WHTI unduly burden Michigan citizens and businesses, as they will be forced to absorb the cost of acquiring two legal documents to cross the Canada-United States border; and
Whereas, The Michigan Secretary of State has proposed the exploration, on a pilot basis, of the feasibility of developing, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, a state-issued driver's license that is an acceptable document for WHTI; and
Whereas, This dual-purpose driver's license identification card proposal has the following stated objectives: recognize the need for secure borders by making it tougher for terrorists to enter the country; provide a convenient service and additional benefits to American citizens; honor the intent of the laws of the state of Michigan protecting the security and privacy of our citizens and meeting the objectives of WHTI without subjecting citizens to multiple layers of governmental bureaucracy; and enact technological and legal barriers to prevent third parties from accessing and sharing information on the physical document and the machine-readable component; and
Whereas, Prior to the enactment of a pilot program, the privacy and security concerns of linking an enhanced driver's license with a passport to meet the requirements of WHTI should be set forth in a study conducted by the Michigan Secretary of State; and
Whereas, It is essential that any machine-readable component of the dual-purpose driver's license identification card be limited to a number for verification purposes; that citizenship information be accessible only by border agents, not by local law enforcement or highway patrol; and that citizenship may not be printed on the identification card or contained in the machine-readable component; and
Whereas, Any new security measures of federal, state, and local governments must be carefully designed and employed to enhance public safety without infringing on the civil liberties and rights of innocent citizens of Michigan and the United States; and
Whereas, The dual-purpose driver's license identification card must not be used to establish a national driver's license and identification card. The Department of Homeland Security should not needlessly share border crossing information with any other local, state, or federal government agency and should limit information sharing to specific persons under investigation for specific actions, as opposed to being based on some racial or ethnic profile; and
Whereas, It is also important that Michigan residents have the option of applying or not applying for the dual-purpose driver's license identification card. The pilot program should recognize and maintain that participation is voluntary; and
Whereas, Any pilot program developed as a result of the feasibility study should include a provision after which the program can be assessed for its impact and effectiveness; and
Whereas, The state of Washington has put in place a system that utilizes what is called an "enhanced license." Clearly, there is a strong need to develop an effective and realistic mechanism that recognizes the daily travel between certain states and Canada; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That we urge the United States Department of Homeland Security to continue to work with the states to coordinate driver's licenses with the new passport requirements to reenter the country from Canada; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; the United States Secretary of State; the United States Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; the President of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; the chairs and ranking members of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the United States Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the United States House Homeland Security Committee, and the United States House International Relations Committee; and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.