Tired of seeing Clear customers being escorted past the airport security line?
California State Senator Josh Newman certainly is.
Newman (D-Fullerton), who frequently travels between his Orange County district and Sacramento, said Clear’s system of charging a premium for special access to a taxpayer-funded service has become a regular source of ‘indignation.
“Over time, you become aware of the extent to which the Clear service has a negative effect on people who don’t use it,” Newman said, noting that he was part of that group. “For me there is something very elitist, almost un-American.”
So Newman wrote a bill requiring Clear – or any third-party airport security provider – to operate through a dedicated security lane, rather than along traditional lines. His team believes it is the first legislation of its kind in the country.
Clear allows its customers, who pay about $200 a year, to go to TSA lines after verifying their identity.
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Newman said the bill, SB 1372, is not intended to ban Clear, which so far appears to be the only vendor that would be affected, but he wants the company to work with the Transportation Security Administration federal government to “reorganize this process”. to separate these two lines” in Californian airports.
“People who don’t use Clear shouldn’t be embarrassed or frustrated,” Newman said in an interview Tuesday. The bill, which was scheduled to be heard Tuesday afternoon by the Senate Transportation Committee, would allow the nine California airports that work with Clear to finalize their contracts, but would prohibit new agreements starting in 2025.
Newman said he was confident the bill would have enough support to clear its first hurdle. There is no companion bill in the State Assembly.
Clear allows its customers, who pay about $200 a year, to go to TSA lines after verifying their identity. Clear customers must pass through TSA security and baggage checks.
It wasn’t immediately clear how difficult it would be for Clear to set up separate security corridors – although the process would surely require more space and employees – but Newman said it was possible, noting Delta’s separate check-in area and security line at LAX. for its highest-paid Delta One customers.
“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 one million Californians,” wrote a Clear spokesperson in a statement. “We continue to work with our airline and airport partners as well as local, state and federal governments to ensure a safer and easier experience at checkpoints for all travelers.”
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about Newman’s bill, but the company is listed in opposition. According to the bill’s analysis, approximately 10% of airport customers are Clear customers.
Newman said he found little evidence that Clear made the airport experience more efficient or improved security as promised. Instead, he noted, the company faced increased scrutiny in Washington after multiple security breaches, including an incident in which someone used a found boarding pass in a trash can, as Politico reported last year.
“Do they really add value? » asked Newman. “Does this justify the inconvenience caused to people who don’t use it?
He called the revenue generated by state airports “progressive.”
Most major airlines and chambers of commerce near the state’s largest airports oppose the measure.
In a letter to the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, major U.S. airlines said the bill “not only threatens to increase fees on air carriers, but also severely restricts the ability of airports to effectively manage queues at security checkpoints.”
“Given SB 1372’s elimination of $13 million in revenue currently paid by Clear, we are concerned that passage of the bill could further increase operating costs for air carriers in the state, which could result in an increase in fares or a decrease in service options,” said the letter, which was signed by airlines Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian, United, JetBlue and Southwest. “In 2023 alone, Clear has verified our frequent travelers more than 5 million times in California, which means our most loyal customers find it valuable to use Clear. We find that Clear’s operations support overall checkpoint efficiency for all travelers by helping to balance queues and conducting fast and secure identity checks at the airports where they operate.
Two major unions, representing flight attendants and transportation safety officers in Northern California, lobbied for Clear’s changes.
The Assn. Flight Attendant said in a letter to Senate leaders that the bill would restore equal access to security lines and expressed growing concerns after “continued reports of irregularities in Clear’s audit” .
“One passenger using a ‘skip the line’ program with a false identity to board an aircraft is one passenger too many,” the flight attendants’ letter states.
California Daily Newspapers
