Texas DPS Uses Redesign Budget For National ID Features

The Texas Department of Public Safety will be using part of its budget to redesign state licenses to implement security features mandated by The Real ID Act of 2005. The redesign budget, approved during the last state legislative session, will incorporate some of the Real ID security features from a menu of options released by DHS in January this year.

“Among other things, we will keep images of the identity documents presented by the [license] applicant. Each license will have unique security features built into it. We are not releasing specifics of those features,” said Tela Mange, DPS public information officer.

DPS did not give a reason why these features were not being released to the public. The nature of secrecy in budget allocations requiring state tax money raises serious concerns for citizens in the current political atmosphere of general distrust of Homeland Security and the Bush administration. The passage of The Patriot Act, the annulment of habeas corpus and FISA wiretappings have sensitized Americans to globalized power grabs.

The Real ID Act of 2005 has a history of passing unnoticed into a publicly enforceable agenda by the Department of Homeland Security. The Real ID Act of 2005, a largely unfunded Congressional mandate, was passed in HR 1268