Montana may get additional extension for REAL ID compliance

Montana has been granted an extension from enforcement of the federal REAL ID requirements for identification cards and may be in line for a second extension to comply with the federal law, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said Monday.

The extension allows federal agencies to accept driver’s licenses and identification cards from Montana until Oct. 10, 2017, though a grace period pushes the compliance date to Jan. 22, 2018.

Starting Jan. 22, 2018, all passengers boarding commercial flights in the United States must present identification from a state compliant with REAL ID, identification from a state that received an extension or an acceptable alternative form of identification such as a U.S. passport.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will conduct a review in October this year to determine what progress has been made by the state of Montana to comply with the federal law, according to Lorie Dankers with TSA Public Affairs. If Homeland Security were to grant a second extension, Montana residents would have additional time — until October 2018, to get their REAL ID-compliant identification.

Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act set standards for sources of identification such as driver’s licenses and prohibits federal agencies from accepting for official purposes driver’s licenses and ID cards from states that do not meet the standards.

Dankers said 26 states are in compliance, and many other states have passed legislation addressing the parameters of the federal law.

“We’re confident when they review [Montana’s progress in reaching compliance] they’ll look favorably on Montana,” Dankers said. “They’re showing they are trying to move toward compliance.”

Homeland Security is authorized to grant extensions to states where there is adequate justification for noncompliance, the Montana Motor Vehicle Division’s website states. It notes that “concerns over privacy issues and federal overreach have driven Montana’s overwhelming opposition to REAL ID.”

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock recently signed a bill pushed through the 2017 Montana Legislature that gives Montanans the option to buy a state driver’s license or identification card that complies with the REAL ID Act and can be used to board flights and access federal facilities.

The legislation authorizes the state to borrow up to $4.6 million to issue REAL ID-compliant cards to those who want them. Travelers have the option of using U.S. passports to board flights.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.