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Port workers will need two security ID cards

Because federal and state standards are different, workers may have to pay $239 in fees. They're not happy.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published June 2, 2006

TAMPA - Thousands of truck drivers, longshoremen and other workers will need separate state and federal security passes to enter Florida ports under proposed rules for the new federal identification card.

Florida will start issuing cards this month that provide access to all 14 state ports for people who pass screenings for criminal records and a terrorist watch list.

Because standards for the cards are different, however, port workers or employers will need to pay up to $239 for both, state and maritime officials warned at a hearing on the proposed federal rules Thursday.

"This is an unacceptable alternative for Florida shipping and cruise industries ... and will have a negative effect on moving commerce in our state,'' said Bill Janes, director of the state's drug control office.

More than 200 people attended the hearing at which the U.S. Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration listened to comments on plans for the card, called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

The TSA expects to start collecting fingerprints and personal information to screen applicants by year's end.

Within 18 months, the agency says, about 750,000 workers nationwide will receive the card they will need to enter secure areas of ports and to board ships. Most will pay $139 for a card that is valid for five years.

Florida got a jump on securing its ports, thanks to a law passed in 2000 that was designed to protect against drug smuggling. The law required agencies running public ports to put up gates and fences to control access to docks and other sensitive areas.

The agencies also had to screen port workers and issue identification cards for them to get through security checkpoints. State officials were supposed to take over screening and replace the local cards with a statewide ID by 2004.

They worked with the TSA to develop a card that would match federal requirements. But after long delays, the state decided to proceed on its own, said Jim Kneeland, who oversees the ID program for the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

This month, the state will start issuing cards valid for four years for a $100 fee, he said. About 100,000 workers currently hold IDs from local Florida ports, including 30,000 at the Port of Tampa.

The problem is, Florida rules don't match the proposed federal rules.

State law denies IDs to anyone convicted of crimes such as carjacking, dealing in stolen property or burglary, Janes said. Unlike Florida's standards, the proposed federal rules require checking immigration records to ensure applicants are U.S. citizens.

The TSA should allow states to have more stringent requirements and recognize Florida's ID as equivalent to the federal card, Janes said.

Beyond the duplication with the state IDs, speakers leveled criticism at other parts of the proposed rules. Requiring a fingerprint scanner on every vessel at U.S. ports would cost the tug and barge industry alone about $40-million, said Skip Volkle, general counsel for Tampa-based petroleum shipper Maritrans.

Stephen Connor, security director of the South Carolina Ports Authority, said the rule requires port officials to retrieve IDs from workers no longer employed at their port. "How are we supposed to know ... if someone's moved or changed their employer?'' he asked.

Federal officials will hold more hearings in St. Louis and Long Beach, Calif., before public comment ends in July. They have not announced a date for issuing final rules but pledged to start the program at the end of the year.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified June 2, 2006, 06:05:20]