Legislators in Oklahoma push for Real ID fix
Two Republican lawmakers say they will introduce legislation to bring Oklahoma into compliance with the Real ID Act, nine years after the Legislature passed a bill forbidding the state from meeting provisions of the congressional action.
Congress passed the act in 2005 to make driver’s licenses harder to forge. Fraudulent ID’s were used by the 9/11 terrorists to carry out their attacks.
Failure to comply with the act means Oklahoma driver’s licenses could stop being accepted as sufficient identification to get on a commercial airliner beginning on Jan. 22, 2018.
Also, starting Jan. 30, the Oklahoma driver’s license will no longer suffice to get on a military base. A state request to the Department of Homeland Security to extend that deadline was denied. buy fake ids
Attempts by the Legislature this year to bring the state into compliance with the act failed to advance.
Reps. Leslie Osborn and Jon Echols say they will try again to accomplish this early in next year’s legislative session
“Last year, the state Senate and state House passed bills out of their respective chambers that would have brought Oklahoma into compliance with the Real ID Act, but an agreement on language could not be reached,” said Echols, R Oklahoma City.
“Our bill in the House would have not only allowed the state to comply with the federal law, but it also would have implemented real safeguards to protect individuals who reasonably believe that this is a prime example of federal overreach.”
Osborn, R Mustang, said she and Echols are working with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the federal Department of Homeland Security to draft a bill “that will comply with the federal law while also protecting Oklahomans. Scannable Fake IDs ”
“We are confident that early next session we will be able to pass legislation that brings our state into compliance,” she said. Passport to get on a commercial flight. He went so far as warning legislators the complaints would be so intense “your phones will melt.”
Thompson emphasized that he is not interested in assigning blame for the current situation, but just wants to work with lawmakers to solve the issue.
“I know together we can do this, and I am optimistic that we can find a solution in order to benefit the people who live and work in Oklahoma,” he said.
Thompson said the biggest obstacle to complying with the act, is revoking the 2007 law that states Oklahoma will not comply.
Oklahoma’s driver’s license already meets many of the requirements under the act. filltrustid One thing that will need to change is that trained state employees will need to check source documents to ensure that people aren’t falsifying papers to get a license under a fake name.