Feds reject state’s request for REAL ID extension

Federal officials have notified Gov. Mark Dayton that the state won’t get additional time to comply with the REAL ID requirements.

In a letter to Dayton dated Monday, two assistant secretaries at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials explained that they reviewed his request for a compliance extension and rejected it.

They said an extension was not warranted, because “Minnesota has not provided adequate justification for continued non-compliance with the REAL ID standards.”

Those standards require enhanced driver’s licenses or identification cards to enter "military bases and almost all Federal facilities," according to a Department of Homeland Security FAQ. It will eventually be required to board airplanes on domestic flights, although U.S. passports will also work.

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The federal officials said Minnesota could renew its extension request if the state can provide additional information about its situation.

States are supposed to have the tougher security standards of REAL ID in place by January 1

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. But Minnesota lawmakers, who were concerned by what many saw as federal overreach, blocked implementation of the standards in 2009. They won’t be able to lift that ban until March, unless there’s a special session.

House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said he wasn’t surprised by the rejection. Daudt also stressed that there’s no reason for holiday travelers to worry.

“The federal government has told us that they will give us a 120-day notice before they prepare to implement the next phase of REAL ID, which would kind of limit travel at the airport,” Daudt said. “That would put us for sure at this point into the regular session of the Legislature and give us an opportunity to take some action.”

Daudt said the first step is to repeal the 2009 law.

But Sen. Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury, said some lawmakers remain concerned about the federal requirements. Kent, who chairs the Legislative Commission on Data Practices, said she expects to see proposals advanced that would allow people to opt out of REAL ID.

“If they made a choice to use a non-compliant ID, then they would have to have other forms of ID to meet the federal requirements,” Kent said. “So there are a number of solutions that out there. What I do hear is a real confidence that we’re going to be able to come up with something.”

A spokesman for the governor said Dayton will address the issue Wednesday during a previously scheduled media availability.