Rival lawmakers Finding Common Ground on Privacy

The data battles (Pittsbutgh Post-Gazette)

The debate in the halls of Harrisburg took an unusual turn at a House State Government Committee meeting earlier this month when both of the committee's leaders, liberal Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, and conservative Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, voiced strong support for a state measure blocking implementation of a federal driver's license. The two are so prone to trading partisan barbs on the record that the committee meetings are casually referred to as "The Daryl and Babette Show."

But the so-called "REAL ID ban," Senate bill No. 354, which passed by overwhelming majorities in both houses, is one of a number of privacy bills that have come before the Legislature during the 2011-2012 session, creating, at times, odd bipartisan bed-fellowships.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Often the most nuanced reporting on the complex issues surrounding privacy, ID management and biometrics are found in local, not national news outlets.