by Michelle Blackston and Jeremy Meadows
Yesterday was the last day states could apply for an extension from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to delay REAL ID. All but two states received an extension and two others--Montana and New Hampshire--got it without asking for it. The two remaining--Maine and South Carolina--also enacted statutes last year indicating they would not comply with the unfunded mandate that looks to cost states upwards of $4 billion to implement.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford sent a letter to DHS saying the state already had made significant improvements to the security of the state’s driver’s license--meeting as many as 14 of the Departments material compliance criteria--and it won’t ask for an extension.
Maine, whose governor sent a similar letter to DHS last week, still is waiting to hear whether they will receive an extension. And late last night, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff set a new deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday to give the state "more time to show progress toward meeting Real ID guidelines," according to the Associated Press.
Come May 11--Mother's Day 2008--residents from states that do not comply with the federal Department of Homeland Security's standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs and have not received this initial extension won’t be permitted to use those licenses as valid ID to board a plane or enter a federal building. Other federally issued IDs--such as passports, military IDs, or federal employee cards--will still suffice.
In an article from the Christian Science Monitor: “DHS had given all states except Maine and South Carolina more time. In letters to Montana and New Hampshire, the Department explained that it was granting an unrequested extension because the states had taken steps toward adopting stricter license security standards.” Maine and South Carolina are undoubtedly expecting similar treatment.
So, where does this leave the REAL ID? The President has so far requested pennies-on-the-dollar for what REAL ID will cost the states. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) is reportedly planning to submit legislation to delay REAL ID implementation until the federal government picks up the tab. Most, if not all, states have the Department's blessing to delay implementation until December 31, 2009. Legislatures continue to debate REAL ID policy and funding in the state capitals as the 2008 legislative sessions move into the second quarter.
In the coming week, NCSL will release a summary of state legislative activity on REAL ID through the first quarter of 2008 that may indicate state reactions to the final rules released by DHS last January. REAL ID will be on NCSL's Agenda for April Spring Forum, where Senator Alexander is scheduled as a plenary speaker. And all eyes will remain on Capitol Hill for indications of congressional appetite to tweak the REAL ID law or to ante up federal funds to cajole state compliance.
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