SACRAMENTO - The State Senate today approved a bill that would prohibit state and local governments from issuing identification documents containing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, a device that can broadcast an individual's most private information including name, phone number, and date of birth. In a 29-7 bipartisan vote, the bill would also make it unlawful for a person to read or attempt to read an identification document without the owner's knowledge.

The bill will be heard next in the State Assembly.

Authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), Senate Bill 682, also known as the Identity Information Protection Act of 2005, is said to be the first bill of its kind in the country and has drawn national attention following the federal government's decision to embed RFID tags in new U.S. passports.

"This represents significant progress for protecting the privacy, personal safety, and financial security of all Californians," said Senator Simitian. "RFID technology is not in and of itself the issue. The issue is whether and under what circumstances the government should be allowed to impose this technology on its residents. This bill provides a thoughtful and rational policy framework for making those decisions."

"I'm particularly pleased that the measure passed out of the Senate on a bi-partisan basis," added Simitian, noting that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted in support of the measure.

RFID tag readers are readily available to the public, making it easy for anyone to collect an individual's most personal information. That information can then be used to steal a person's identity, stalk them, or even kidnap them. RFID tags embedded in public employee identification tags and other official documents could allow the government to track its employees' movements. SB 682 would also make it unlawful for a person to read or attempt to read an identification document without the owner's knowledge.

"The bi-partisan support of Monday's vote shows California's leaders have heard the message of its residents - protect our privacy rights," said Pam Noles, a policy associate with the ACLU of Southern California. "Now the Assembly must take a pioneering step and vote in support of this measure and the Governor must sign it into law."

SB 682 has gained support from across the political spectrum. Former Congressman Bob Barr (R-Georgia) recently featured Senator Simitian on his weekly show on Radio America. Other supporters include the Capitol Resource Institute, the AARP, The California Alliance Against Domestic Violence, the Statewide California Coalition for Battered Women, California NOW, the California Commission on the Status of Women, and the University of California Student Association (UCSA).

"This bill is important because it will protect Californian's privacy, security, and economic well-being" said Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The bill was in part inspired by a case of an elementary school in Sutter, California that required its students to wear identification badges that contained RFID tags that broadcast the student's name, photo, grade, school name, class year and the four-digit school ID number. Parents successfully petitioned the school to remove the RFID tags.

LOS ANGELES - Like Nightline anchor Ted Koppel's choice to honor soldiers who died while fighting the war in Iraq by reading hundreds of names, two Santa Barbara brothers chose to read soldiers' names on Veteran's Day last year in the city's shopping district.

Like Koppel, the brothers came under fire for their actions.

While peacefully reading the names last November, police approached Michael and George Tocher and arrested Michael. The ACLU of Southern California filed a claim today with the City of Santa Barbara seeking damages for Michael for the violation of his First Amendment rights.

The brothers had read about 400 of the 1,200 names of soldiers who died when police arrived in response to a citizen complaint. They then wrongly accused Michael of disturbing the peace, yelled at him, demanded identification and promptly arrested him. George was not cited.

"The right of free expression is one of our most fundamental rights," said Ricardo Garcia, criminal justice director for the ACLU of Southern California. "Neither Michael nor George were doing anything that is not protected by the First Amendment. Free speech does not stop at the city limits."

The claim was received by the city Friday morning and if the claim is denied, the ACLU of Southern California will file a complaint with federal district court in the central district of California for violations of Michael's First and Fourth Amendment rights.

"My brother and I felt like we had to do something to remember the hundreds of soldiers who died in Iraq," said George Tocher, a social worker in Los Angeles. "We felt it was a very reasonable and non-offensive way of protesting the war. We didn't want to do anything negative, but rather bring awareness on Veteran's Day."

The Tochers, two of five brothers, are Santa Barbara natives. Michael lives in Nipomo and George in Los Angeles.

"If we were to do it all again, I would do it without hesitation," said Michael Tocher, electrical engineer and father of two. "It is our duty as people in this great country to speak out, be heard and engage the freedoms that we claim as our own. It is so important that everyone have a chance to speak out without fear of retribution."

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Senate is expected this week to affirm the anti-privacy, anti-asylum, anti-property rights bill known as Real ID attached to an appropriations measure to fund the war in Iraq and tsunami relief. The ACLU of Southern California soundly opposes Real ID.

The House of Representatives approved the controversial measure last week. By all accounts its passage in the Senate is imminent and the Real ID Act will likely be enacted without being scrutinized in any hearings or debate.

"It is a terribly disappointing measure and a blow to all of our rights," said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California. "This sweeping legislation rolls back asylum laws, attacks immigrants and sets the stage for a national ID. Congress is remiss in its duty to slip such major changes to immigration laws into a funding bill for the military without debate or discussion."

Real ID denies the persecuted safe haven and places undue burdens on permanent residents and citizens alike. Because the House sent the Real ID Act to the Senate as part of a "must pass" appropriations measure for the war in Iraq and tsunami relief, Congress failed to carefully consider and review its provisions.

The act violates the spirit of international law by allowing government officials to demand asylum seekers to obtain written "corroboration" from the very governments or militant groups who persecuted them.

"The Real ID Act will unnecessarily harm immigrants," said Ranjana Natarajan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "Refugees will be sent home to face persecution and torture because of this law. In some cases the act would even eliminate the right of people facing deportation to have the court review their case."

Real ID will also standardize the information collected by all 50 states for driver's licenses and requires states to link their databases together for the mutual sharing of data from IDs. This will create a single national database, which has its own inherent security risks, and transforms licenses into national identity documents. The unfunded legislation will also make roads less safe by barring undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses, something 11 states have allowed in the name of public safety.

"Despite deep public opposition over the years to a national identity card, and Congress's unwillingness to even consider the idea directly, our security agencies have now gotten what they want as proponents have succeeded in pushing through Congress a thinly disguised national ID," Ripston said.