A new bill, the first of its kind in the U.S., would ban security screening company Clear from operating at California airports as lawmakers take aim at companies that let consumers pay to pass through security ahead of other travelers.
Sen. Josh Newman, a California Democrat and the sponsor of the legislation, said Clear effectively lets wealthier people skip in front of passengers who have been waiting to be screened by Transportation Security Administration agents.
“It’s a basic equity issue when you see people subscribed to a concierge service being escorted in front of people who have waited a long time to get to the front of TSA line,” Newman told CBS MoneyWatch. “Everyone is beaten down by the travel experience, and if Clear escorts a customer in front of you and tells TSA, ‘Sorry, I have someone better,’ it’s really frustrating.”
If passed, the bill would bar Clear, a private security clearance company founded in 2010, from airports in California. Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers’ identities at airports and escort them through security, allowing them to bypass TSA checkpoints. The service is in use at roughly 50 airports across the U.S., as well as at dozens of sports stadiums and other venues.
I’m all for doing a risk based analysis of people and having a higher or lower level of scrutiny based on that analysis. “Ability to pay” shouldn’t be part of that analysis. Of course, given the history of problems with building such system, I also don’t expect that the TSA (or any group) is going to do well building a risk based system which isn’t:
Hilariously, I constantly get pulled for secondary. On my last trip they had us in a separate line and I finally made the connection. We were all guys that ran hot. It’s the old heat=sweat=nervous idea. So a calm terrorist wouldn’t get caught by their automatic secondary selection system. Like someone about to commit suicide that’s made peace with their decision.
I stopped getting pulled out for secondary scan after I asked if it said asshole next to my name. I’m fine if it does but I’d like to know. And no extra scans.