Missouri given another REAL ID extension

Missouri has received another extension from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, giving the state more time to become compliant with the Real ID Act.

The state’s new grace period runs through Jan. 21, 2019.

This extension means the state’s non-compliant ID cards, including driver licenses, will be accepted by federal agencies at airports and other facilities into next year.

With a previous extension set to expire Oct. 10, Missouri Department of Revenue Director Joel Walters recently issued a statement announcing the latest extension. His press release also stated his department would, on behalf of the state, apply for yet one further extension since Walters expects Missouri to be compliant with the Real ID Act by March 2019.

Kansas began issuing REAL ID compliant licenses in Aug. 2017.

Without the present and one further extension, a Missouri driver license would be insufficient as a form of identification to board an airplane or enter a federal facility after Jan. 21.

Walters does not believe it will come to that and stated, “we remain on track to be fully compliant with the REAL ID Act by March 2019.”

Missourians usually renew driver licenses on a three-or-six-year cycle.

Assuming Missouri receives one final extension and the new cards become available come March of 2019, those who need to fly or access federal buildings will have to head to a driver license office during the 18-months between March 2019 and October 2020 and obtain a REAL ID form of identification.

According to current law, all forms of identification issued by U.S. states and territories must comply with the REAL ID standards by October 2020 and after that, the government is to turn people away at airports and federal facilities who do not have a compliant ID.

The terrorists who perpetrated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. obtained driver licenses to avoid using their passports which they feared would attract unwanted attention and flag them from terrorist watch lists.

In July 2004, the 9/11 Commission issued a 585 page report on how to reform the United States intelligence community and implement other security measures to prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States.

On page 390, under the heading Immigration Law and Enforcement, the Commission recommended the setting of a national standard for state issuance of identification and stated:

“Fraud in identification documents is no longer just a problem of theft. At many entry points to vulnerable facilities, including gates for boarding aircraft, sources of identification are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who they say they are and to check whether they are terrorists.”

Congress passed and President George Bush signed into law the Real ID Act in 2005.

The nine features of a valid REAL ID card include: the person’s full legal name; date of birth; gender; driver license or identification card number; a digital photograph; address of principle residence; person’s signature; physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes; and a common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements.

Some states have gone beyond the minimum and are adding a radio frequency identification chip similar to those used in credit cards. At present, the design specifications for Missouri’s REAL ID driver and non-driver licenses do not call for such a chip to be added.

Citing privacy concerns, the General Assembly passed and former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill in 2009 that barred the Show-Me State from complying with the Real ID Act, one of 24 states to take such action.

The combined action of multiple states failed to change the minds of the President, Congress and various federal officials; this led to the compromise legislation signed into law in 2017.

On June 14, 2018, Missouri House member Rep. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, was quoted in the Kansas City Star as stating, with the threat of cybersecurity breaches, it is “unbelievable that we think this is a solution.”

Joining Brattin was Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Washington, who said the law takes away “rights and freedoms’ which Americans already possess.

Curtman continued, “but if you disagree with the law, once it goes into effect, you won’t be allowed to fly to D.C. and you won’t be allowed to go into the office of your congressman to complain about the law.”

The federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repeatedly stressed “REAL ID is a national set of standards, not a national identification. REAL ID does not create a federal database of driver license information.”

Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, was one of those who advocated for last year’s compromise to allow the issuance of Real ID cards but also allow citizens to opt out. Those opt-out IDs will not be acceptable identification for boarding planes or entering various federal facilities.

Said Engler, “The people with aluminum hats felt that the government would come up with this database that then they would spy on us.”

The DHS website further states, “Each jurisdiction continues to issue its own unique license, maintains its own records, and controls who gets access to those records and under what circumstances. The purpose of REAL ID is to make our identity documents more consistent and secure.”

The reason Missouri did not obtain a single extension until March of 2019 is due to a decision by the director of DHS to make each extension a standard length, ending across the nation on the same date; this is to prevent accusations of favoritism.

Homeland Security further states that, even after Oct. 1, 2020 a REAL ID card will not be required in voting or registering to vote; the provisions of the current Missouri photo ID law will remain in effect.

In addition, a REAL ID will not be needed for applying for or receiving Federal benefits, being licensed by a state to drive, accessing health or life preserving services (including hospitals and health clinics), law enforcement, or constitutionally protected activities (including a defendant’s access to court proceedings) as well as participating in law enforcement proceedings or investigations.

In separate news, the Missouri Office of Administration, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Revenue, has awarded the management contract for the Stockton License Office to Amy French.

The announcement stated neither the office location nor the opening date.

Although Linda Sue (Susie) Bolen, the previous contract holder, retired on June 1, 2017; she had given the state sufficient time to put the contract out for bid. When this did not happen, the office was closed and those who would have used it were forced to travel outside the county to get licenses, license plates and license tags. All license office contracts in Missouri are awarded through a competitive bid process.