Governor signs Real ID planning prohibition repeal into law

Gov. Mark Dayton signed a measure into law Thursday allowing the Department of Public Safety to begin planning how to bring Minnesota into compliance with federal Real ID standards.

Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Maple Grove) and Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls), HF1732/ SF1646* repeals a 2009 prohibition that prevents state agencies from planning how to comply with the 2005 federal law that set tougher minimum security standards for issuing licenses in response to terrorism-related security concerns.

The law, effective April 1, 2016, also requires the Department of Public Safety to deliver a report to the Legislature on its findings by April 14, and directs the commissioner to request an extension that will allow Minnesotans with non-compliant state-issued IDs to enter federal buildings and military bases.

Currently, Minnesotans without an enhanced ID can’t gain access to secure federal facilities using only their standard ID. If still non-compliant by January 2018, Minnesotans would also be barred from boarding commercial domestic flights using only their state IDs while passing through security.

Minnesota is one of the only remaining states that has not complied with Real ID.

The law allows state officials only the ability to study the logistics and cost of beginning to issue state IDs compliant with the decade-old federal law. A second piece of legislation will be needed to implement new identification standards.