House advances federally compliant ID bill
The Oklahoma House has advanced legislation to comply with federal identification card rules set to trigger this summer.
By giving residents the option of getting an identification card or driver’s license that meets Real ID standards, the state would ensure residents’ ability to visit military bases and U.S. government buildings.
Homeland Security has also warned noncompliant states like Oklahoma that residents could be barred from boarding commercial flights once the restrictions are fully implemented next year unless they possess a card that meets security standards proposed more than a decade ago.
The federal government has given Oklahoma lawmakers until the end of session to adopt Real ID, and House Appropriations Chair Leslie Osborn said Homeland Security will grant another extension to implement the law if it’s signed by Gov. Mary Fallin.
Oklahomans who don’t want a compliant license would still be able to get an ID that doesn’t include the security features
required by the federal government. The Real ID Act of 2005 was intended to strengthen driver’s license procedures nationwide to prevent terrorists from obtaining bogus identification.
Nationwide implementation of the federal law has been hampered by states, like Oklahoma, that haven’t adopted the measures. Minimum standards were laid out more than a decade ago in response to security breaches and the threat of terrorists using counterfeit IDs, but opposition grew out of concerns over privacy and government overreach.
In 2007, Oklahoma lawmakers rejected Real ID, effectively prohibiting state agencies from implementing its provisions. At the time, Oklahoma politicians said they were worried that personal data, like the highresolution photos required for Real IDs, would be fed into an unsecure national database containing other biometric data.
State Rep. Tommy Hardin, R-Madill, was one of 18 House members who voted against the bill Thursday. He said the measure, which raises the cost of getting a driver’s license by $5, would be a tax on Oklahomans.
“Each citizen of the United States is guaranteed rights to address their government, to protest their government without restrictions. We’re getting ready to tax the people of Oklahoma for a right under the U.S. Constitution,” Hardin said.
During debate against the bill, Hardin drew a comparison between access of undocumented immigrants to the United States and access of a citizen to a federal building.
“In my opinion, we’re very close to being in jeopardy of violating our oath of office to support and defend the Constitution,” he said.
The cost of noncompliant cards will be increased, too. Two dollars out of every new compliant card purchased will be remitted to tag agents as an incentive to process applications. The rest of the additional cost would be given back to the Public Safety Department, the agency that will implement the Real ID roll out.
Osborn said she believes 80 percent to 90 percent of tag agents will agree to offer the compliant cards.