Starting October 2020, travel on a domestic flight will require a so-called Real ID, one with all the bells and whistles that the feds require. California has really kicked the can down the road on issuing Real ID's, and blamed them on
last summer's lines that proceeded at a Wagnerian pace. I didn't even apply for a Real ID then, I can just use my passport if I need to fly somewhere. But not everyone has a passport, some want a Real ID, and
the DMV just can't get it right:
The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued 2.3 million new IDs this year using a process that doesn’t meet the federal government’s standards, the DMV was told last month.
The development means Californians who got those Real IDs will need to provide a second form of documentation to prove their residency when their ID comes up for renewal. DMV spokesman Armando Botello said the federal government told the DMV during phone conversations about the issue that it would still accept IDs that didn’t meet the requirement in the meantime.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent DMV director Jean Shiomoto a letter on Nov. 21 saying California’s process for verifying ID applicants’ residency didn’t meet federal requirements.
How long has California known about the Real ID requirement?
The Real ID law was passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and requires new ID cards to carry special markings.
It would seem a very long time.
What got me, when my newly-18-year-old, non-driving niece was trying to get an ID so she could fly, was that the State Department wouldn't issue a passport without a *state* ID first. They were essentially outsourcing RealID to the states, which in the case of CA, is probably a very bad idea.
ReplyDelete--Ann in L.A.