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Real ID conferees adopt report; House, Senate votes expected Wednesday

Minnesotans might not have problems boarding commercial aircraft in 2018 with a state-issued ID after the conference committee on the Real ID compliance bill unanimously adopted its report Tuesday.

Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Maple Grove), who sponsors HF3*/SF166 with Sen. Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake), said, “Our intent is to have this bill on the floor tomorrow.”

The six-member panel first adopted same and similar provisions, settling differences in the two chambers’ versions and adopting a series of amendments to the bill along the way.

A controversial provision that would essentially prohibit the Department of Public Safety from issuing driver’s licenses or state identification cards to undocumented residents is not in the final agreement. That provision was in the omnibus public safety bill vetoed Monday by Gov. Mark Dayton.

WATCH Full video of the conference committee's May 16 hearing 

Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005, which pushed states to adopt IDs that meet uniform, heightened data and security standards. In 2009, prompted by concerns about data privacy and federal overreach, the Legislature passed a ban on compliance with Real ID, prohibiting even research into how the state might eventually comply.

But with the threat that, beginning in 2018, Minnesota IDs would no longer be accepted for domestic commercial air travel, a 2017 law repealed part of the 2009 ban, allowing state agencies to plan for implementation.

 

Amendments accepted

An amendment offered by Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) reinstated a previously stricken provision from existing statute regarding a requirement that applicants sign applications swearing their information to be true and correct. The amendment also added the phrase “under penalty of perjury.”

Pratt offered an amendment to blend different ways of stating the same license fee structure. Another Pratt amendment reorganized a section of the bill concerning information the Department of Public Safety must provide to applicants, including an agency website.

Rep. Gene Pelowski Jr. (DFL-Winona) offered an amendment adding three types of documents that Real ID applicants may use to establish their identity and date of birth, including a marriage certificate, divorce decree or other court order specifying a change of name. Another Pelowski amendment allows for future formats of passport documentation to be acceptable in applying for Real ID.

An amendment offered by Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) would establish a process for applicants seeking Real ID-compliant licenses before the expiration of their current licenses. Their new licenses would be valid through the next expiration date. For example, applicants seeking a Real ID-compliant license a year before their expiration date would be issued IDs valid for five years, subject to a $2 fee. 


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