August 19, 2009 3:04PM 

# Arizona to Feds: No “Enhanced” Drivers License 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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Last week, the governor of Arizona [signed](http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hb2426o.asp) [H.B. 2426](http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hb2426h.htm), which bars the state from implementing the “enhanced” drivers license (EDL) program.

If the federal [REAL ID revival bill (PASS ID)](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_SN_1261.html) becomes law, it will give congressional approval to EDLs, which up to now have been simply a creation of the federal security and state driver licensing bureaucracies.

As governor of Arizona, the current Secretary of Homeland Security signed a memorandum of understanding with the DHS to implement EDLs, and she backs PASS ID even though she signed an anti-REAL ID bill as governor. [As I said before](https://www.cato.org/2009/07/02/calling-secretary-napolitano-arizona-to-reject-edls/), Secretary Napolitano seems to be taking the national ID tar baby in a loving embrace.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy) 

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