Minnesota House lawmakers push ahead on Real ID fix

Legislation to bring Minnesota in line with new federal driver's license security standards passed its first committee Monday in the Minnesota House.

The bill directs the state to start issuing Real ID compliant licenses beginning Oct. 1. The change would require Minnesotans to provide additional personal information, including proof of state residency, for Real ID record keepers.

Some lawmakers say quick action is needed to make sure Minnesota travelers don't run into any problems at airports when enforcement begins. But others say it would be less expensive to wait, and there are still too many concerns about data privacy.

Starting the process this year makes the most sense, state Rep. Dennis Smith, R-Maple Grove, told members of the House Civil Law and Data Practices Committee, which passed the bill in a 7-4 vote.

"If we are able to start to implement in October 2016, no one will have to get a license twice before October 2020, which is the federal date that everyone needs to be Real ID compliant," he said. "Everyone will go through the normal renewal process. That will be very consumer friendly and save efficiencies within the system."

State officials estimate the cost of implementation under Smith's timetable could reach $5 million. They say it would be significantly less in 2018, when a new license computer system is expected to be up and running.

Still, Smith said he's convinced an October start is the best path. "I feel we've gotten to a point, based on the timeline that the federal government has rolled out, that the clock is about to expire, and we need to act."

Smith's bill requires all new licenses to be Real ID compliant. But some lawmakers from both parties argue that there needs to be another option. They say drivers who are concerned about the federal collection of personal data, and who don't ever travel by plane should still be able to get a simple, non-Real ID compliant license. Similar concerns fueled the 2009 prohibition on Real ID planning that lawmakers repealed last month.

Rep. Dan Schoen, DFL-St. Paul Park, tried unsuccessfully to change the bill in the committee meeting Monday. Schoen predicted Smith's single-track approach doesn't have enough support, among both Democrats and Republicans, to become law.

"This is my attempt to get us closer to a point where the public can see that we're making an effort to get something that's actually going to pass and done," Schoen said. "I don't a single-track is going to be in that spot for us."

The Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday is expected to take up a significantly different approach to Real ID.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, said his bill will address the data collection concerns by providing a non-compliant license option. Dibble said under his plan new, Real ID compliant licenses would begin being issued in 2018, using the new state computer system.

"It seems to make sense just to build the Real ID implementation into the development and the programing for that new system," he said. "But that does mean we're going to have to contend with the added expense and the added workload that will go with folks who are needing to renew their driver's licenses inside a two-year window rather that the standard four-year window. So, we'll have to figure that out."

Dibble said he wants the state to subsidize the cost of license renewal, which would further lessen the projected savings of a later implementation.