XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.democrats   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: they.are.stealing@your.money   
      
   SACRAMENTO, California — In this deep blue state where   
   Republicans rarely back Democratic colleagues in the Capitol,   
   one issue is overcoming the partisan divide: line skipping at   
   airports.   
      
   A pair of Orange County state senators from opposing parties —   
   who frequently fly between their districts and Sacramento — are   
   both boosting a first-in-the-nation proposal critics say would   
   ban the expedited security screening company CLEAR from state   
   airports.   
      
   “The least you can expect when you have to go through the   
   security line at the airport is that you don’t suffer the   
   indignity of somebody pushing you out of the way to let the rich   
   person pass you,” Josh Newman, the Democratic lawmaker who   
   authored the bill, told POLITICO.   
      
   His Republican colleague, Janet Nguyen, expressed similar   
   sentiments about the bill.   
      
   “I do understand the frustration stated in Senator Newman’s   
   bill,” Nguyen, who sits on the transportation committee, said in   
   an email to POLITICO. “It becomes a haves vs. have nots where   
   those who can afford it jump in front of the rest of us. They   
   even cut in front of TSA Pre-boarding pass travelers who have   
   been screened by the TSA.”   
      
   After publication, Nguyen’s staff reached out to say she hasn’t   
   taken a formal position on the bill.   
      
   Newman’s bill would require third-party vendors like CLEAR to   
   get their own dedicated security lane or lose the ability to   
   operate in California airports. Currently, CLEAR customers pay   
   $189 a year to verify their identities at airport kiosks before   
   being escorted past queued passengers to the front of TSA lines.   
      
   Although there’s some bipartisan agreement on the bill, it still   
   faces a tough path to passage because industry groups have lined   
   up against the measure that’s set to come before the Senate   
   transportation committee Tuesday. It’s the latest example of   
   California’s business interests trying to quash what they see as   
   government overreach in the state that’s banned everything from   
   gas-powered vehicles to purple Peeps. But the lawmakers have a   
   powerful labor ally in this fight — flight attendants and TSA   
   agents who denounce CLEAR as a pay-to-play system.   
      
   Six major airlines — Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue   
   and Hawaiian — are fighting the bill, citing revenue loss from   
   CLEAR that could result in an increase in airfare. CLEAR   
   verified more than five million frequent fliers at those six   
   airlines in California last year, “which means our most loyal   
   customers find value in using CLEAR,” according to their letter.   
   Delta, United and Alaska have partnerships with CLEAR.   
      
   CLEAR, founded in 2010, provides identity verification services   
   for expedited security screenings at more than 50 airports, as   
   well as other venues like stadiums. It currently operates in   
   nine California airports, charging travelers to cut the line at   
   security once their identity is confirmed at a CLEAR pod. It is   
   different from TSA PreCheck, which expedites the actual security   
   checkpoint process.   
      
   Newman stressed that he’s not trying to ban CLEAR and claims has   
   no issue with concierge airport services. But he believes the   
   CLEAR system is neither efficient nor secure.   
      
   This isn’t the first time lawmakers have questioned CLEAR’s   
   procedures. The company faced scrutiny last year from members of   
   Congress after employees escorted passengers through TSA   
   security checkpoints who were not enrolled in CLEAR and did not   
   display identification, including a case where someone got   
   through using a boarding pass they found in the trash.   
      
   CLEAR spokesperson Ricardo Quinto said the company is concerned   
   about the unintended consequences of the bill, such as airports   
   losing jobs and revenue.   
      
   “We will continue to work constructively with legislators as   
   well as the federal government and our airport partners to   
   ensure operations at California airports are as seamless and   
   efficient as possible,” Quinto said in a statement.   
      
   Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Senate President Pro Tempore Mike   
   McGuire — both Democrats — declined to comment on the measure,   
   which currently has union support from the Association of Flight   
   Attendants and the Northern California branch of the American   
   Federation of Government Employees, which represents around   
   1,200 TSA agents.   
      
      
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