The Independent View: NYC Municipal ID Program, IdNYC

New York City published eligibility and privacy guidelines Friday for its new Municipal ID program, which officially launches in less than a month.

The program is a vehicle for undocumented immigrants to receive city services and open bank accounts where identification is required. The card could also be a boost for immigrant-owned businesses, advocates say. City officials are offering access to a variety of cultural institutions for free to persuade New Yorkers here legally to get the card, so the new ID won't stigmatize holders as undocumented immigrants.

On Friday, the city unveiled details about who is eligible and how their information will be protected. The ID card will be free for the first year, after which some fee will apply. It will be valid for five years before requiring renewal. Those 14 years old and older are eligible, regardless of immigration status. Applicants will be required to show proof of identification and proof of residency in New York.

Proof of identification is on a point-based system, similar to a Department of Motor Vehicles system. Driver's licenses and handgun permits are worth four points, for example, while U.S. passports and New York state electronic benefit transfer cards are worth three, U.S. birth certificates and Social Security cards two, and reduced-fare MetroCards and high-school diplomas are worth one.

Overall, 40 categories of documents that may be used to establish identity are accepted for the Municipal ID, including an unexpired Municipal ID card itself. Exceptions to the proof of residency requirement will be made for some homeless individuals.

In addition, the city's Human Resources Administration issued three executive orders detailing how cardholders' personal information will be protected. Only staffers designated by the Municipal ID program's Executive Director or General Counsel of HRA will have access to a database of cardholders' information. Another executive order lays out an appeals process for individuals who are denied a card.

HRA, which is using "ID verification scanning technology and high-tech cameras" to enroll applicants, hired nearly two dozen staff members to prevent fraud in the program. The city has contracted the production of the ID cards to St. Paul, Minn. based 3M, which has experience making government-issued identification.

The cards will be printed on polycarbonate card stock and include an embedded hologram, applicant signature, engraved city seal and a secondary black-and-white ghost photo of the applicant.

Jennifer Tavis, a former Small Business Services assistant commissioner, was hired several months ago as Executive Director of the Municipal ID program, a source says.