Real ID study gets Senate consent
The Minnesota Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to direct the Department of Public Safety to study how to bring the state in compliance with the federal Real ID law.
House members could act on the companion bill as soon as Thursday, giving the agency that issues millions of state licenses until March 31 to report back on timelines, costs and other logistics. There's urgency involved because lawmakers expect to consider a second bill later this session to allow distribution of the security-enhanced licenses, which will one day be required for domestic air travel in the absence of a passport.
Minnesota is one of a dwindling number of states that refused to make any moves toward embracing the Real ID, which requires driver's license applicants to submit more paperwork to prove their identity. Congress passed the law dictating its terms a decade ago, but federal agencies have only recently begun enforcing rules surrounding it by limiting access to federal buildings and military bases unless visitors present complaint identification cards. It will become essential at airports as soon as 2018.
"I do think it is in the best interest of national security and the best interest of the people that we represent that we do comply with REAL ID," said Sen. Terri Bonoff, a Minnetonka Democrat who relayed concerns of constituents who worry about being turned about from bases where relatives serve or struggling to board commercial aircraft.
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The bill the Senate passed on a 63-2 vote is short of full implementation. It lifts a gag order that had been in place that prohibited state officials from doing any kind of planning. Once a report is delivered to the Legislature, debate will shift to discussion of rolling out the new driver's licenses and ID cards, a process where people can opt-out and requirements for keeping gateway documents like birth certificates secure.
Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, made clear he was consenting only to the study for now and he still has doubts about bowing to federal pressure.
Limmer noted the eroding resistance from what had been 32 states lined up against the federal law, accusing the federal government of "threats and bullying" under the guise people will be safer.
"Sometimes you wonder, is that little plastic card going to protect us from terrorism?" Limmer said.
Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo, said he worries that data collected and maintained by states will be misused by agencies conducting surveillance. He was one of the two dissenters on permitting planning.