New Hampshire Governor Lynch Signs Law Prohibiting New Hampshire From Participating in Federal Real ID System

June 27, 2007 -- CONCORD - New Hampshire Governor Lynch today signed into law legislation prohibiting New Hampshire from participating in the federal Real ID system.

“Real ID is intended to make us all safer, which I think we can all agree is a laudable goal. However, I strongly believe Real ID’s proposed haphazard implementation and onerous provisions would have the exact opposite effect. The federal government obviously did not think this burdensome system through and that is why we in New Hampshire are right to reject it,” Gov. Lynch said.

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Gov. Lynch continues to have many concerns regarding Real ID, including the cost, the impact on the privacy of our citizens and the burden it will place on state government employees.

“Today, we are sending a strong message to the federal government - we are not about to be coerced into another unfunded federal mandate, especially not one that we will pay for with our privacy,” Gov. Lynch said.

House Bill 685 was passed unanimously by the Senate and received overwhelming support in the House.

The legislation was sponsored by Reps. Neal Kurk, Jay Phinizy, Joel Winters, Lars Christiansen, Susan Almy, and Sen. Peter Burling.

Source: New Hampshire Governor