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States expect woes from driver's license law

An antiterrorism law creating a national standard for all driver's licenses by 2008 is going to create major problems, officials in some states say.

State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out the Real ID Act say its authors underestimated its logistical, technological and financial demands.

In a survey obtained by the Associated Press and in followup interviews, officials cast doubt on the states' ability to comply with the law on time and said they are concerned it will be a budget problem.

"It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008," said Betty Serian, a deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Nebraska's motor vehicles director, responding to the survey by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, said that to comply with Real ID her state "may have to consider extreme measures and possibly a complete reorganization."

And a new record-sharing provision of Real ID was described by an Illinois official as "a nightmare for all states."

States use a hodgepodge of systems and standards in granting driver's licenses and identification cards. In some places, a high school yearbook may be enough to prove identity.

A major goal of Real ID - which was motivated by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, whose perpetrators had legitimate driver's licenses - is to unify the disparate licensing rules and make it harder to fraudulently obtain a card.

The law also requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases so duplicate applications can be detected, illegal immigrants caught and driving histories shared.

State licenses that fail to meet Real ID's standards will not be able to be used to board an airplane or enter a federal building.

The law, which was attached to a funding measure for the Iraq war last May, has been criticized by civil libertarians who say it will create a de facto national ID card and new centralized databases, inhibiting privacy.

State organizations such as the National Governors Association have criticized the law as well. Many states will have to amend laws in order to comply.

Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Real ID's principal backer, House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said there is no chance states might win a delay of the 2008 deadline.

The August survey by the motor vehicle administrators' group asked licensing officials nationwide for reports on what it will take to meet Real ID's demands.

Detailed estimates produced by a few states indicate the price will blow past a February 2005 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated Congress would need to spend $100-million reimbursing states.

[Last modified January 13, 2006, 01:47:08]