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If You Live in One of These States You’ll Soon Need a Passport for Domestic Flights  1
SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 Big Brother



To comply with the 2005 Real ID Act, which the U.S. government has been slowly implementing for the past decade, citizens in a number of different U.S. states will now be forced to obtain a passport if they want to board an airplane — even for domestic flights.

By:  John Vibes

This article first appeared at ANTIMEDIA

The Department of Homeland Security and representatives with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have declined to comment on why certain states have been singled out, but starting in 2016, residents of New York, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and American Samoa will need a passport to fly domestically. All other states will still be able to use their state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs — for now, at least.

According to the Department ofHomeland Security’s guidelines on enforcement of the Real ID Act,

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on December 20, 2013 a phased enforcement plan for the REAL ID Act (the Act), as passed by Congress, that will implement the Act in a measured, fair, and responsible way.

Secure driver’s licenses and identification documents are a vital component of our national security framework. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government ‘set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.’ The Act established minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards.  The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.

States and other jurisdictions have made significant progress in enhancing the security of their licenses over the last number of years. As a result, approximately 70-80% of all U.S. drivers hold licenses from jurisdictions: (1) determined to meet the Act’s standards; or (2) that have received extensions. Individuals holding driver’s licenses or identification cards from these jurisdiction may continue to use them as before.

Individuals holding licenses from noncompliant jurisdictions will need to follow alternative access control procedures for purposes covered by the Act.  As described below, enforcement for boarding aircraft will occur no sooner than 2016.”

According to the fine print, not all 50 states have driver’s licences that meet the Real ID requirements, which could possibly explain why the aforementioned regions will not qualify in 2016. However, there is no specific mention of what the requirements actually are.

The Real ID act has been controversial since its initial proposal over ten years ago and is seen by many as a massive violation of privacy. One of the primary reasons it has taken the government so long to roll this program out is that the program is wildly unpopular and creates heavy backlash every time it appears in the news.

The tightening of the Real ID restrictions are seemingly intended to push people towards attaining the newly issued “enhanced ID,” which adds more unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy to the already tedious process involved in identification applications.


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What happens if my state does not meet all of the REAL ID requirements?
Individuals without licenses from compliant jurisdictions may present alternative forms of identification – such as a U.S. Passport –
accepted by the agency. Some agencies may have additional processes to accommodate individuals lacking the prescribed identification documents.

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PHASE 4 no sooner than 2016
Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft
A driver’s license or identification card from a noncompliant state may only be used in conjunction with a second form of ID for boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft

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The Department of Homeland Security and representatives with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have declined to comment on why certain states have been singled out, but starting in 2016, residents of New York, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and American Samoa will need a passport to fly domestically. All other states will still be able to use their state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs — for now, at least.

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ALBANY County clerks in New York are raising concerns that travelers may face difficulty next year boarding airplanes because New York driver's licenses are not compliant with federal standards.

In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act to set security requirements for driver's licenses across the nation. But New York remains one of four states to not have updated its licenses to comply with the federal law, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo urged the state Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses that comply with Real ID.

If the state does not issue licenses in accordance with Real ID when the act goes into effect next year, New Yorkers would have to bring other forms of identification, such as birth certificates or passports, to get through airport screenings, the federal government said.

New York last updated its licenses in 2013.

"New York state DMV has had 10 years to act and has still not developed a solution to ensure all drivers' licenses comply with Real ID without payment of an additional fee," Dinolfo said in a statement.

State officials downplayed the concern, saying New York has submitted a request for an extension from the federal government in an effort to find a remedy.

"We have submitted a request for an extension to the Real ID Act and our discussions with the Department of Homeland Security have been very productive," Casey McNulty, a state DMV spokeswoman said. "We have no reason to believe that any New Yorker will have a problem using their current state-issued ID card to get on a plane come January 2016."

Some county clerks are proposing another resolution: New Yorkers should purchase enhanced driver's licenses, which are similar to passports that allow for limited international travel.

Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs told WGRZ in Buffalo that he is encouraging drivers to get the enhanced licenses, which allow New York residents to travel from the U.S. to Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries by land and sea as opposed to having to use a passport.

"I think the state has done a fairly poor job of getting the word out about this," Jacobs said. "You know, we need to tell people loudly for a while and let them know, because we really don't want someone caught at the airport."

McNulty, though, said that the enhanced driver's licenses are an extra $30 because they cost more to produce and take additional steps and time in the office to process. In addition, the clerks get more of the money.

In a statement, she explained that because of the higher cost, "county clerks who process enhanced driver's licenses for DMV are, by law, paid 30 percent of the enhanced driver's license fee instead of the typical 12.7 percent of the fees they collect."

She said the state will likely end up offering a wide variety of licenses to suit customers' preferences.

Quoted from joebxr

Yup, and "...will need a passport to fly domestically." is STILL FALSE!
Drivers license and 2nd form of ID will work!

Quoted from Box A Rox

NY Issues Enhanced Drivers Licenses on request that comply with boarding requirements.