ST. PAUL – On Tuesday, March 29th, members of the Minnesota House of Representatives approved legislation that would allow Minnesota to prepare for the implementation of REAL ID. State Representative Anna Wills (R-Rosemount) voted in favor of the measure.
"This legislation will allow the Department of Public Safety to gather real-world information about the costs and logistics of switching to REAL ID," said Wills. "I'm glad both sides of the aisle could agree on this measure."
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.
"Once the Department of Public Safety provides the legislature with their research results, we can start discussing actual solutions to the REAL ID issue and hopefully start issuing the new IDs before the end of this fall." Wills said. "I'm confident we will find a responsible approach that will keep data secure, and prevent inconvenience to Minnesotans in the transition to REAL ID. In the mean time, everyone can continue to use their Minnesota driver's license to fly domestically though 2018."
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