House moves to make Minnesota licenses comply with federal standards

Despite looming deadlines, Minnesota is one of the few states that still hasn't adopted the tougher security standards for drivers' licenses that were spelled out in a 2005 federal law. Enforcement of the tougher security standards is scheduled to begin at airports in January 2018.

State lawmakers lifted a 2009 prohibition against Real ID planning last session, but didn't finish the job by spelling out how the state would comply.

The House voted 72-58 Thursday evening to change that.

House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Zimmerman, said during a news conference ahead of the vote that he's confident about resolving Real ID this session.

"We know how important this is," he said. "We know that potentially a million or more Minnesotans fly every year and expect that they should be able to use their Minnesota driver's license when they're getting on an airplane. So we want to make that happen."

Daudt insists that the House bill does not address the issue of whether unauthorized immigrants can one day obtains state drivers' licenses. That issue, he said, needs to be addressed separately.

"The people who support that issue need to advocate for that issue. They need to grow grassroots support and get a groundswell of momentum to get their issue passed here in the Legislature just like everyone else does."

But many DFL lawmakers argue that the House Real ID bill does address unauthorized immigrant licenses, by effectively banning them. Such licenses are currently banned in Minnesota under an administrative rule. The House bill would put that rule in statute.

Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, said during the floor debate that other states have kept the door open to immigrant licenses as a way to keep their roads safer.

"We don't need the peace of mind of Minnesotans to be held hostage to our unresolved anxieties and issues regarding immigrants," he said.

Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, also objected to the rule-making provision. Halverson said the controversial language could prevent the bill from reaching the governor this session.

"People are asking for one thing from us, one thing. Pass Real ID. Pass Real ID tonight. And here we have a bill that is going to put that at risk for the citizens of Minnesota. Shame on us. This is disappointing."

In the past, lawmakers opposed Real ID over its collection of personal data, and what they see as federal government overreach. Those issues were barely mentioned during the House debate.

Rep. Dennis Smith, R-Maple Grove, said his Real ID bill addresses some of the previous concerns by giving Minnesotans two options. They can provide the extra personal information needed for a federally-compliant license or identification card, or they can continue to use a noncompliant ID.

"This bill is meant to roll out Real ID for everyone in the state who wants it, who wants to opt into it," Smith said. "You get to choose. Minnesota wants this bill. The time is now."

The House Real ID bill looked like the Senate version until last week. That's when a Senate committee adjusted the rule-making language to address the concerns raised by immigrant advocates. The Senate bill is expected to receive a finance committee hearing next week before advancing to the Senate floor.

Daudt sees a problem with the different language.

"I think the Senate believes that their bill does what our bill does. We don't believe that it does."