Real IDWashington State to offer 2-tier driver’s license system to comply with Real ID Act

State officials in Washington are looking to redesign the state’s driver’s licenses and ID cards to comply with the federal 2005 REAL ID act which requires proof of legal U.S. residency for access to federal government buildings and soon domestic air travel. Under legislations expected to be introduced this week in the state House and Senate, Washington will create a two-tier system for licenses. Beginning on 30 November 2017, standard licenses would be marked with a “federal restrictions apply” or “not valid for federal purposes,” disclaimer, and enhanced licenses — those that comply with the REAL ID act and are already offered by the state — would remain in place.

Currently, Washington does not require proof of legal presence for a state license or ID, but the proposed measures would limit undocumented immigrants to a restricted driver’s license or ID. The measures would not require Washington residents to get the enhanced licenses, but those without it who wish to travel by air domestically or enter federal buildings would need a passport or go through other screening processes. The Seattle Times notes that this includes legal residents who do not have U.S. citizenship.

State officials hope that the legislations would bring the state into compliance with the REAL ID act. They also hope the federal government will grant them an extension to the enforcement of the law while they create the new licenses. In July, federal officials wrote that while the state has made progress to enhancing security of driver’s licenses and ID cards, an extension would not be approved. Governor Jay Inslee voted against the act while he was in Congress and still disagrees with the policy, but “The federal government is at some point going to drop the hammer and we don’t have a lot of options,” he said, adding that “We fashioned the least onerous, the least restrictive proposal possible to be in compliance with this federal requirement.”

Inslee now hopes the proposals will meet the requirements needed for an extension before the 19 January enforcement deadline that will restrict access to some federal buildings for non-compliant ID holders.

At least twenty-four states and territories have yet fully to comply with the REAL ID act, but Washington is one of only nine states that have not received a compliance extension from the federal government. The measures proposed in Washington state would repeal a 2007 state law that prohibited spending state funds to comply with the REAL ID act. Tony Sermonti, the legislative director for the Department of Licensing said the proposals help move the state towards compliance and “does it in a way that stays as close to our current driver’s license system as possible.”