APNewsBreak: Feds won’t accept Missouri driver’s licenses

“The Legislation needs to repeal the 2009 law and give the Minnesota Department of Public Safety the authority to move forward with compliance”. In a letter Dayton’s office released Thursday, two assistant Homeland Security secretaries bluntly rejected the extension that was requested by both Dayton and, separately, by GOP House Speaker Kurt Daudt and a group of his colleagues.

At issue is the federal Real ID standards that Minnesota lawmakers voted in 2009 to prevent the state from implementing due to privacy concerns. The exact date for that requirement is unclear – and the federal government has promised it will give states at least 120 days’ advance notice.

Minnesota is the only state without a so-called Real ID card or making progress toward upgrading existing ones.

While questions surround the ability of a Minnesota driver’s license to get you on an airplane in the coming year, many are turning to a different form of identification. The EDL license, which is Real ID-compliant and began in 2008, costs $30 and grants access to federal facilities including airports and allows boarding of domestic flights.

In a letter sent to Dayton this week, Homeland Security officials said Minnesota “has not provided adequate justification for continued noncompliance with the Real ID standards that would warrant” an extension. “My passport is expired, so I went in thinking an enhanced license was going to be the best way to go”. They won’t be able to lift that ban until March, unless there’s a special session.

Those without Real ID compliant licenses would need extra Real ID-compliant identification for federal purposes but could use their standard licenses for state purposes, such as driving.

At one point, about half the state legislatures had passed measures opposing the implementation of the Real ID Act. Dayton has called that an overreaction.

“Minnesota has done literally nothing to meet the standards on Real ID”, said Andrew Meehan with Keeping IDentities Safe, a national nonprofit pushing the few remaining Real ID holdouts to get on board.

“This is not about people of one political view agreeing with people of another political view in Minnesota”, Dayton said.

Within days, the federal government is expected to announce when the updated IDs will be needed to board airliners. Dayton and legislative leaders have discussed folding the Real ID issue into a special legislation session the governor originally proposed to extend unemployment payments for laid-off Iron Range workers. But Dayton asked the Department of Homeland Security for an extension to ensure residents’ travel plans aren’t disrupted.

Wisconsin adopted a similar policy in 2013.