Maryland is still not ready to comply with new federal laws requiring individuals to prove their identity and legal residence before receiving a driver?s license or government-issued identification card, transportation officials said.
“What we?re really talking about is a national identification card,” said John Porcari, nominee to be the next secretary of transportation. “The frontline workers at the Motor Vehicle Administration are now frontline security workers. … This [Real ID law] will be a logistical issue for the MVA and a financial concern.”
MVA Administrator John Kuo told a House Environmental Matters committee Tuesday the state was waiting for the federal government to decide how widely the federal Real ID Act will be enforced. The identification card would be used to board an airplane or enter nuclear power plants and other federal buildings, including courts. The federal government could go as far as prohibiting someone from opening a bank account without an identification card that complies with the federal law, Kuo said.
To receive a Real ID-compliant driver?s license or identification card, a person must be a United States citizen or national, or be legally present in the country as an alien or refugee.
Maryland is one of only seven states that does not require proof of legal residence before issuing a driver?s license.
House Minority Leader Tony O?Donnell said he was frustrated that citizens could be barred from air travel if they do not have an ID card.
“Considering all this, why not get on with it?” he said. “Why wait?”
Under the federal law, MVA workers would be required to verify the authenticity of identification documents, including birth certificates and Social Security numbers, before issuing driver?s licenses or ID cards. Kuo could not say what, if any, new technology will have to be purchased or what other costs might be involved in bringing Real IDs to Maryland.
Kuo said the administration hoped the new federal regulations would allow states to phase in the program because it would be “very difficult” to meet the set deadline by May 2008. The federal government is expected to issue detailed regulations about the application of the Real ID Act by this summer or early fall.
