Committee hears Real ID issue

By Phil Cobb | January 20, 2016 |

Rep. Allen Andrews

Citizens concerned about being able to fly with a Missouri driver’s license received good news as the state was granted a two-year extension so that state IDs will continue to be accepted at airport security checkpoints.

Missouri is now one of 27 states that have been granted extensions, and Missouri travelers will now have until Jan. 22, 2018, to use their current driver’s licenses to travel.

In the meantime, the legislature will continue to look at long-term solutions to ensure Missouri citizens are not negatively impacted by the state’s decision to not comply with the Real ID Act approved by the federal government in 2005.

The act was passed by Congress to create new minimum standards for licenses, and the Missouri legislature responded in 2009 by passing legislation to protect the privacy of Missouri citizens by rejecting the requirements of the act.

This week, the House Emerging Issues Committee met to look at all options. Both the director and deputy director of the Missouri Department of Revenue appeared before the committee to outline the current state law and the changes that would need to be made in order to become compliant with the Real ID Act.

For example, the department would need to start retaining copies of source documents such as birth certificates. It also would need to implement a photo validation program to ensure applicants don’t have more than one ID issued by the state under different identities.

One of the key points emphasized by the department in its testimony is that it would take a significant amount of time to implement the changes if the state chose to do so.

Lawmakers also raised questions about the cost the state would incur to comply with the federal act. Others were concerned with the possibility that the private information of Missourians would be kept in a national database if the state complies, but the department deputy director said his understanding is that there is not a federal database.

In the coming weeks, lawmakers will look for a compromise solution that will honor the spirit of the 2009 law passed by the state legislature, but also ensure Missourians don’t have to face additional hurdles when travelling.

Already several bills have been filed to allow the state revenue department to issue a second, non-driver’s license that would be compliant with the Real ID Act. The option would allow Missourians to choose whether to obtain just the standard driver’s license that is not Real ID compliant, or to also obtain the second ID that would be accepted at federal facilities and airport security checkpoints throughout the country.

Legislators will discuss this option, as well as others, as the legislative session progresses.