New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission agreed to drop a controversial licensing program challenged by the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, the civil liberties group announced Friday.
The ACLU-NJ declared a victory over its claim that the MVC violated state laws when it pushed through federal license requirements with the proposed implementation of the new TRU-ID licensing program.
The ACLU-NJ said in a statement that the MVC agreed to drop its TRU-ID licensing program.
Implementation of the program was temporarily suspended in May after a Superior Court judge approved the group’s petition for a temporary suspension. The ACLU-NJ’s complaint argued the MVC violated New Jersey’s Administrative Procedure Act, which requires new rules and regulations to undergo a period of citizen review.
“New Jersey law demands a transparent, democratic process that would give the public a chance to weigh in on a program such as TRU-ID that would adversely affect our privacy,” said Ed Barocas, acting executive director of the ACLU-NJ, in the statement.
“It’s disturbing to think how close New Jersey got to having such an intrusive ID system pushed onto us by mere fiat rather than through proper legal channels,” he said.
The TRU-ID licensing program is the state’s version of new federal licenses – dubbed the Real ID Act – that will be required to board airplanes and enter federal buildings.
A call made to the MVC for comment was not immediately returned.
