Calif. Senate approves electronic ID ban

A California bill that would prohibit the use of tiny radio devices in driver's licenses and other state-issued forms of identification won approval from the state's Senate this week in a 29-to-7 vote. The bill moves next to a vote in the State Assembly, which last year derailed a proposal for restrictions on the conmmercial use of such devices, also known as radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips. California Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) introduced the Identity Information Protection Act of 2005, SB 628, in February following public outcry over a Sutter County school's plan to outfit elementary students with ID badges containing RFID chips. The proposed legislation may also put California at odds with the Real-ID Act, a new federal law that will require states to issue high-tech IDs.

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