California legislators introduce a bill to prohibit Clear services at airports
Two California lawmakers proposed bipartisan legislation to ban the Clear biometric verification system from state airports. State Sen. Josh Newman critiqued Clear for favoring wealthy individuals over others during airport security screenings. Republican Sen. Janet Nguyen supported the bill, emphasizing fairness in airport security processes. The proposed law aims to require Clear to have a separate security line at airports or face exclusion.
Two California lawmakers have proposed bipartisan legislation that would ban Clear, a biometric travel document verification system, from airports across the state.
State Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat from Orange County and the sponsor of the legislation, said Clear effectively allows wealthy people to skip the line over those waiting to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration at U.S. 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,” Newman said.
Republican state Sen. Janet Nguyen, also representing Orange County, co-sponsored the legislation for similar reasons.
“I do understand the frustration stated in Sen. Newman’s bill,” Nguyen said. “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.”
The bill would require Clear to obtain its own security line or lose access to operate in California airports. Those with Clear clearance pay $189 a year to verify their identities at the airport before being escorted to the front of the TSA line, essentially “cutting” the line.
“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 said. “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.”
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and Hawaiian Airlines are fighting the bill. The airlines say this would cut their revenue, which could result in an increase in airfares. Delta, United, and Alaska are partnered with Clear.
“We are proud to partner with nine airports across California — creating hundreds of jobs, sharing more than $13 million in annual revenue with our California airport partners and serving nearly 1 million Californians,” Clear said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “We are always working with our airline and airport partners as well as local, state, and federal governments to ensure all travelers have a safer, easier checkpoint experience.”
The legislation has the support of the Association of Flight Attendants and the Northern California branch of the American Federation of Government Employees, representing around 1,200 TSA agents. James Murdock, president of a local chapter TSA officers union, said Clear is “nothing more than the luxury resale of upcharge of space in the airport security queue.”
“While Clear may save time for its paying customers, non-customers suffer from Clear’s aggressive sales tactics and longer security queues while they enter an essential security screening process,” he said.
Newman said his goal is to start a discussion around public resources like TSA security.
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“The hardest part is just getting a clear, no pun intended, understanding from all of the participants about what the bill is or isn’t,” Newman said. “It is not a personal grudge by one senator against this company.”
The bill is expected to come before the California State Senate’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday.
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