Valid ID
The issue of state boating licenses which the USCG could use for boater identification has nothing to do with safety. The reason the USCG wants a state boater license is for security, to positively identify the operator of vessel in US waters. It is obvious based on this question that people are not aware of the new laws their elected representatives have enacted. The USCG and our other military agencies do not create laws; it's the elected officials that create new laws. The USCG is caught between a "Rock and a Hard place" on this issue of homeland security. After 9/11 Washington enacted the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2000. The USCG was ordered to mitigate the potential of a terrorist act against US maritime facilities and transportation. Increase security measures can not be implemented overnight; a risk assessment and measures to mitigate these risk must be researched and planned. In December of 2006, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen spoke at the meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. It was at this meeting that he brought up the question of having a state boating license that could be used by the USCG for identification. "The United States already has endured terrorism using small civilian craft, albeit overseas: In 2000, suicide bombers in the port of Aden, Yemen, used an inflatable boat to blow themselves up next to the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39 others. Terrorism experts point to other ways small boats potentially could assist in attacks – for example, a speedboat could deposit saboteurs at the outlet pipes of a nuclear power plant, or hijackers aboard a cruise ship. In a nightmare scenario, suicide bombers in a crowded harbor could use small watercraft to detonate a tanker carrying ultra-volatile liquefied natural gas, causing a powerful explosion that could kill thousands..." "As good as we get at surveillance, as good as we get at patrolling and creating deterrence out there, sooner or later we’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that we need to know to a greater certainty who are operating boats out there, what boats are out there..." USCG Commandant Thad Allen said at the meeting. It sounds like no big deal. The question put to this forum was: "It is not clear why the Coast Guard feels existing forms of identification, such as a valid state driver's license or Social Security card, would be insufficient." Using your state issued driver's license will work until 2013 when the Real ID Act of 2005 will be enforced. The Real ID Act of 2005 requires that for the federal government to accept a state driver's license as ID, the state must comply with the requirements of the Real ID Act of 2005. "Each state driver's license or identification card must include, at a minimum: The person's full legal name. The person's date of birth. The person's sex. The person's driver's license or identification card number. A photograph of the person's face. The person's address of principal residence. The person's signature. Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes. A common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements (the details of which are not spelled out, but left to the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the states, to regulate). Before a state driver's license or identification card can be issued, the applicant must provide the following documentation: A photo ID, or a non-photo ID that includes full legal name and birthdate. Documentation of birthdate. Documentation of legal status and Social Security number. Documentation showing name and principal residence address. Digital images of each identity document will be stored in each state DMV database Each state must agree to share its motor vehicle database with all other states. This database must include, at a minimum, all the data printed on the state drivers' licenses and ID cards, plus drivers' histories (including motor vehicle violations, suspensions, and points on licenses). Any state that does not link its database, containing records on all drivers and ID holders, to the database of the other states loses its federal funding." The new law was to take effect in May of 2008, but it was extended until 2013 because some states are oppose to the new federal law. If a state refuses to implement the Real ID Act of 2005, than the state loses some federal funding. This also means that no federal agency or any organization doing business with the federal government can use the state driver's license as identification if it doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005. What this means is that you can not fly domestically in the USA using your state driver's license if it is from a state that doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005, since the Transportation Security Administration(TSA) regulates airport security. You can't open a bank account if the bank is federally insured using your state driver's license as identification if it that doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005. You can't get a federal student loan or apply for Social Security using your state driver's license as identification if it that doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005. If your state driver's license doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005, it's worthless as ID as far as any agency of the federal government is concern, including the USCG. Using a non-Real ID Act state driver's license would like trying to use a state issued library card for ID to get into a bar; it would be totally useless. If your state driver's license doesn't meet the Real ID Act of 2005 you can always use your passport. State boating licenses are different from state drivers licenses. Some states allow people too young to operate a motor vehicle, operate a boat. U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen was testing the water to see if the States might be willing to create a state boating license that will meet the Real ID Act of 2005. The USCG is still developing a security plan for possible small craft threat. I don't how the plan will handle a situation when they board your vessel and ask for ID and you have a state driver's license that doesn’t meet the Real ID Act of 2005. If the USCG requires ID for all operators of vessels in US territorial waters and your state doesn't have either a state boating license or state driver's license that is federally approved form of identification I don't know what they'll do; tell you to leave the area? I guess you can sail carrying your passport or sail in an area without a commercial port or traffic. You could also sail on a small lake, because I'm sure they are going to be checking ID's on the Great Lakes. Fair Winds, Clyde FAQ on Real ID Act of 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5697111.html Coast Guard broaches state boat licenses http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=165344
