ST. PAUL – Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives approved legislation that would allow Minnesota to prepare for the implementation of REAL ID. State Representative Roz Peterson (R-Lakeville) voted in favor of the measure.
"This bills is an important first step in moving toward REAL ID; I’m glad both parties could come together on this," Peterson said.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security told Minnesota it had until 2018 to develop REAL ID-compliant licenses in order for residents to board an airplane. Currently Minnesota's licenses do not comply with the federal REAL ID Act.
Minnesota had previously approved a law barring Minnesota's Department of Public Safety from even discussing REAL ID compliance with Homeland Security. The measure approved by the House recently would eliminate that ban and allow the process to begin.
"This legislation allows the Department of Public Safety to conduct studies and give us real-world information on the costs and logistics of shifting to REAL IDs," Peterson said. "This data will allow us to discuss actual solutions, and hopefully start issuing REAL IDs before the end of this year. Everyone will still be able to use their driver’s license to fly domestically until 2018, but we want to get moving on this now to avoid any future inconvenience for people in getting their new IDs."
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