Several states square off with Homeland on Real ID law
(Worthy News) – The Department of Homeland Security this week rejected requests to extend the amount of time five states have to develop identification cards compliant with the Real ID Act, upping the incentive for states to fall in line with the federal proof-of-identity law.
The move means that, come 2018, residents of Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maine, Pennsylvania and South Carolina might not be allowed to board commercial flights with only state driver’s licenses and would instead be required to use an alternative form of identification such as a passport, according to Homeland Security.
Rollout of the Real ID Act, which Congress adopted in 2005 to tighten license requirements in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has spanned more than a decade as some states have made slow progress in meeting compliance standards and others have balked at the issuance of compliant IDs over privacy concerns. [ Source ]