Residents in about a dozen states are going to have to use a passport to board a plane in a year if their states don’t make progress in meeting the requirements of the Real ID Act, the oft-delayed law requiring states to to conform to federal standards on issuing driver’s licenses. Some critics think the 2005 mandate is akin to a national ID and oppose it.
A number of states have declared or passed measures to say they won’t comply. The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License notes, “at a minimum, Montana, Washington State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arizona, Louisiana, and Alaska. New Mexico has no prohibitions against compliance, but has been unable to revise state laws to meet the lawful presence requirements set by the federal driver’s license rules. Oregon’s legislature considered law changes needed for federal compliance in 2011, as did Illinois, but the legislation failed in both states.”
Since it passed in 2005, Real ID has become something like Real IDead, as nearly half of the states had opted out, voted against it or passed resolutions against it because of compliance costs and constitutional and civil rights issues.
In the first half of 2011, a tally by the National Conference of State Legislatures showed 16 states had passed “statutatory opposition” to Real ID compliance, including Arizona, Georgia and Missouri; another eight have approved resolutions against it, including Illinois, Colorado and Nevada. In two others, at least one legislative chamber has passed resolutions against.
Those who comply and are certified by the Department of Homeland Security may issue licenses with gold stars on them.
States need to be “substantially compliant” by Jan. 15, 2013. IDs from those that are not will not be recognized as secure. The latest deadline extension came last March.