HD26 - Report of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Desirability and Feasibility of Issuing "Smart" Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards in Virginia


    Executive Summary:
    House Joint Resolution 162, passed by the 2004 Session of the General Assembly, established a joint subcommittee to study the desirability and feasibility of issuing "smart" driver's licenses and identification cards in Virginia. The resolution charged the joint subcommittee with considering the potential benefits, costs, and risks associated with issuance by the Commonwealth of driver's licenses and identification cards with an embedded computer chip that can store biometric identification information and other personal data associated with the persons to whom they are issued. Such biometric data might include a fingerprint, an iris scan, or facial recognition technology.

    The joint subcommittee met three times during 2004. At the first meeting, Ms. Karen Chappell, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and Lieutenant Steven L. Chumley, legislative liaison from the Department of State Police, addressed the joint committee concerning the issuance of smart driver's licenses. Ms. Chappell spoke about the importance of driver's license security, highlighting the fact that both the public and private sector increasingly rely on a driver's license not only as proof that a person is qualified to operate a motor vehicle, but also as secure proof of someone's identity. Technology can help increase the security of driver's licenses. Lt. Chumley focused on the increasing problems of identity theft and terrorism. While he recognized that the issuance of a smart card could help to expedite the authenticity of the identity of those who carry a Virginia license, it would not help in situations where an individual has a license issued by another state, or where the license was obtained through the presentation of fraudulent information. Furthermore, it would be costly to acquire readers for the cards so that police officers could access the information embedded on the licenses. Given these challenges, the Department of State Police suggested that alternatives to a smart card may need to be considered.

    The joint subcommittee also heard from interested parties and organizations at its second meeting. Mr. Rich Carter from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) provided a national perspective on the use of smart cards. While recognizing that smart cards produce some security benefits, he shared that AAMVA does not see a strong business case for the issuance of driver's license smart cards. Mr. Christopher Calabrese from the American Civil Liberties Union expressed privacy concerns. His comments focused primarily on concerns over the use of radio frequency identification tags, often referred to as RFID tags, that are read through a radio signal, and not by a reader through which a card must be swiped to obtain the encoded biometric information. Finally, representatives from S?flink Corporation, a technology vendor, provided the joint subcommittee with an overview of the capabilities of smart card technology.

    At its third and final meeting, Ms. Laurie Peterson, President of the Virginia Retail Merchant's Association, addressed the subcommittee. She shared that use of biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, on driver's licenses could be very useful to banks, hospitals, merchants, and others. While there would be some cost associated with purchasing the readers necessary to access the identifiers embedded on the card, these costs would be less than the cost of fraud committed in the absence of the identifiers.

    The joint subcommittee considered draft legislation that would authorize the use of biometric identifiers in Virginia driver's licenses and identification cards, if inclusion of such identifiers was requested by the licensee or cardholder. After discussion, no action was taken on the draft bill. The joint subcommittee then considered a draft resolution calling on DMV to study implementation issues related to the issuance of smart licenses and identification cards. It was decided that such a study should not be limited exclusively to technologies relying on embedded computer chips, but should also look at alternative technologies. The study resolution was recommended by the joint subcommittee by a vote of 3-1.

    A more comprehensive report of the work of the joint subcommittee will follow this executive summary.