LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is prepared to comply with a 2005 federal law mandating more secure state driver’s licenses, state officials say, but won’t start producing them until Washington demands it.
The Real ID Act has been delayed for nearly five years amid concerns from states about an estimated $4 billion price tag, fears among some in the Senate that revisions to the plan watered down security controls and opposition from those who say it will erode privacy.
Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano waived a Dec. 31 deadline for states to comply, saying the government didn’t want to disrupt Christmas travel plans for millions of Americans.
The problem that Arkansas and many other states have is that nobody knows the political future for Real ID, leaving the state in a “holding pattern,” said Michael Munns, assistant commissioner for revenue at the Department of Finance and Administration.
“It’s still kind of up in the air,” said Munns, noting that legislation now pending in Congress, dubbed “Pass-ID,” has different standards than its predecessor.
“It kind of puts all the states into a situation: Don’t do something and have it be the wrong thing. You don’t want to spend money when you don’t have the money to spend if it’s not required,” Munns said.
Currently, Pass-ID legislation, filed in June by Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Democrat, hasn’t cleared the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The committee’s chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and some Republicans have criticized the bill for watering down security measures.
The latest bill doesn’t require confirming birth certificates with the issuing agency. It also doesn’t require the use of “enhanced licenses” by people to do things such as board planes, according to The Associated Press.
Only a handful of states have complied with Real ID, which require enhanced rules for driver’s licenses, including more extensive identity checks and security upgrades like digital photographs and bar codes to make licenses hard to fake.
Fifteen states - including Arkansas’ neighbors Missouri and Louisiana - have passed laws opposing the federal mandate. Another 10 - including Arkansas in 2007 - passed resolutions to that effect, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But legislation sponsored by state Rep. John Edwards, D-Little Rock, earlier this year put Arkansas into compliance, Edwards and Munns say.
Edwards’ bill became Act 1308, which instructs the state to comply with Real ID, albeit with significant caveats.
The law is strictly voluntary, meaning that no resident will be required to buy the license if it is ever manufactured. Traditional licenses will still be available.
Enhanced licenses will be cost the same as standard versions at $20. An enhanced state identification card would cost $5, Edwards said.
The state law sunsets in June 2011, a month after the federal deadline for states to be in compliance with Real ID, and it prohibits the implementation of the program unless Washington mandates it.
“We thought it was best to be prepared, more or less like a Boy Scout,” Edwards said, adding that he had advanced the legislation for Gov. Mike Beebe.
Arkansas has invited bidders on a seven-year contract to manufacture its driver’s licenses, but has extended the bid deadline until January, said Munns.
The new vendor must have a plan to manufacture enhanced driver’s licenses if and when the federal government requires them, he said.
The state has already made minor technical changes to comply with Real ID, he said.
“We feel like we’re already in substantial compliance,” Munns said.
A letter to that effect was being prepared by state officials when Napolitano pushed back the deadline.
The final federal deadline for Real ID of May 2011 remains.
The state hasn’t spent any significant money yet on Real ID but has already received about $1.6 million in federal grants to help implement the program. Those grants require the state to first spend money, which is then repaid by the Department of Homeland Security, Munns said.
At a cost of about $2.8 million to comply with the Real ID, said Munns, he is hopeful that additional federal funds would cover most or all of the price tag if the law ever goes into effect.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/27/2009