California State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is pushing a bill that would restrict expedited airport screening by for-profit companies such as Clear, which charges $189 per year to move passengers to the front of the TSA security line.
The text of the bill, SB 1372, says:
Beginning January 1, 2025, a public airport that provides commercial services shall not enter into an a new agreement that authorizes a private third-party vendor that provides expedited security screening to use the standard security lane or the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck security lane.
Conservative blog RedState noted:
What this legislation boils down to is that the government and government unions are trying to eliminate a private company that is doing the job more efficiently than the government and making a profit off of doing it. The PreCheck system allows travelers who pay $70 to $80 every five years to enjoy an expedited screening process by submitting fingerprints and a valid ID. Nobody is forcing anyone to use the TSA PreCheck or Clear’s system; customers voluntarily pay the fees for the benefits of not waiting in a long line. It is the same thing as most amusement parks charging a hefty fee for the perks of bypassing long lines at their parks.
Newman says that his bill does not “ban” Clear, but merely prevents it from using the same security line as everyone else.
SB 1372 passed Senate Transportation 8-4.
The bill *doesn’t* ban CLEAR in California airports. Instead, it seeks to move CLEAR customers to separate screening lanes, benefiting all travelers. #CALeghttps://t.co/4AzxYgRILY
— Senator Josh Newman (@JoshNewmanCA) April 24, 2024
“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,” said Senator Josh Newman. #CALeghttps://t.co/fddDSkJeif
— Senator Josh Newman (@JoshNewmanCA) April 22, 2024
The state would have to reimburse local governments for the cost of adding lanes.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.