Background:

Current law requires the Department of Licensing (Department) to implement a highly accurate biometric matching system that is compliant with standards established by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) within two years after Washington implements provisions of the federal Real ID Act.

The biometric matching system may only be used to verify the identity of an applicant for renewal or issuance of a duplicate license or identicard. When the system is established, the Department must allow every person applying for an original, renewal, or duplicate driver's license or identicard the option of submitting a biometric identifier. A fee of up to $2 may be charged to add a biometric identifier to a driver's license or identicard. The project requires a full review by the Information Services Board using the criteria for the projects of the highest visibility and risk.

An applicant must be informed of:

all ways in which the biometric identifier may be used;
all parties to whom the identifier may be disclosed and the conditions of disclosure;
the expected error rates for the biometric matching system which shall be regularly updated as the technology changes or empirical data is collected; and
the potential consequences of those errors.

The Department must adopt rules to allow applicants to verify the accuracy of the system at the time that biometric information is submitted. All biometric information must be stored with appropriate safeguards. The Department may not disclose biometric information to the public or any governmental entity except when authorized by court order.

Current law also requires the Department to develop procedures to handle instances in which the biometric matching system fails to verify the identity of an applicant for a renewal or duplicate driver's license or identicard. These procedures must allow an applicant to prove identity without using a biometric identifier. A person who has voluntarily submitted a biometric identifier may choose to discontinue participation in the program at any time. When the person discontinues participation, any previously collected biometric information must be destroyed.

The Department received federal funds for a driver's license and identicard biometric matching system pilot program. The pilot program was implemented in 2009. The Enhanced Driver License program also uses facial recognition technology to verify identity.

Facial recognition matching systems use a mathematical template based on the photograph of the applicant and compare the template against templates of photos currently in the system. The system then identifies potential template matches for review by a Department staff person.

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

A "facial recognition matching system" is defined as a system that compares the biometric template derived from an image of an applicant or holder of a driver's license, permit, or identicard with the biometric templates derived from the images in the Department's negative file. The term "biometric matching system" is replaced with the term "facial recognition matching system" throughout the statute.

The Department may implement a facial recognition matching system (system) for all driver's licenses, permits, and identicards. Any system selected by the Department must only be used to verify the identity of an applicant for, or holder of, a driver's license, permit, or identicard to determine whether the person has been issued identification under a different name or names.

The results from the system are not available for public inspection and copying and may only be disclosed pursuant to a valid subpoena, warrant, or court order; or to a federal government agency if specifically required under federal law. In addition, the Department may disclose the results to a government agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, for use in carrying out its functions if the Department has determined that person has committed certain prohibited practices and this determination has been confirmed by a hearings examiner. These prohibited practices are to:

display or possess a fictitious or fraudulently altered driver's license or identicard;
lend a driver's license or identicard to any other person or knowingly permit its use by another;
display or represent as one's own any driver's license or identicard not issued to him or her;
willfully refuse to surrender to the Department upon its lawful demand any driver's license or identicard which has been suspended, revoked, or canceled;
use a false or fictitious name in an application for a driver's license or identicard, or to knowingly make a false statement, or to knowingly conceal a material fact or otherwise commit a fraud in an application;
permit any unlawful use of a driver's license or identicard issued to him or her;
sell or deliver a stolen driver's license or identicard; or
manufacture, sell, or deliver a forged, fictitious, counterfeit, fraudulently altered, or unlawfully issued driver's license or identicard, or to manufacture, sell, or deliver a blank driver's license or identicard except under the direction of the Department.

The Department must post notices at driver licensing offices, make written information available at offices, and post information on the agency website that addresses:

how the system works;
all ways in which the Department may use the results;
how an investigation based on results from the system would be conducted; and
a person's right to appeal any determinations made.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer is required to develop appropriate security standards for the Department's use of the system, subject to approval and oversight by the Technology Services Board. The Department must report to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1 of each year regarding the number of investigations initiated by the Department based on results from the system and final outcomes of those investigations.

The requirement that the system be compliant with standards established by the AAMVA is modified so that any subsequent changes to the AAMVA standards would need to be adopted by the Department in rule.

The requirement that the Department implement a biometric matching system within two years of implementing the provisions of the Real ID Act is removed. Language allowing a person to discontinue participation in the program is removed. The requirement that the project be reviewed by the Information Services Board is removed. The authority for the Department to charge an applicant a $2 fee for submitting a biometric identifier is repealed.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The authorization for use of the system is modified so that it may be used only to verify the identity of an applicant or holder of a license, permit, or identicard to determine whether the person has been issued identification under a different name or names.

Disclosure requirements are added. The Department must post notices at driver licensing offices, make written information available at offices, and post information on the agency website that address:

how the system works;
all ways in which the Department may use results from the system;
how an investigation based on results from the system would be conducted; and
a person's right to appeal any determinations made.

The situations in which results from the system may be disclosed are modified. The results:

are not available for public inspection and copying;
may only be disclosed pursuant to a valid subpoena, warrant, or court order;
may only be disclosed to a federal government agency if specifically required under federal law; and
may be disclosed by the Department to a government agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, for use in carrying out its functions if the Department has determined that person has committed certain prohibited practices and this determination has been confirmed by a hearings examiner.

The requirement in current law that the system must be compliant with standards established by the AAMVA is modified so that any subsequent changes to the AAMVA standards would need to be adopted by the Department in rule.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This is a simple bill and it is unbelievable that the state is not already doing this. It is an important tool in preventing identity theft. Law enforcement needs to know the identities of the people with whom they come into contact. In a recent triple homicide situation, the suspect had three identifications under different names. The state must be able to verify who a person is.

Identity theft has significant societal and public safety impacts. A driver's license is used as the primary form of identification in many situations and the Department needs to provide some assurance that a person is who he says he is. Thirty-one other states use some form of a facial recognition matching system. Seven other states use fingerprints. The Department cannot think of a situation where a person needs more than one license under different names.

(Opposed) None.