A bill to give the Alaska Department of Administration authority to adopt regulations to comply with the federal REAL ID Act passed the Alaska House on May 12, while similar legislation moved forward in the Senate.
Following a reconsideration vote, the bill was to be transmitted to the Senate.
On the same day as House Bill 74 passed, the Senate Rules Committee combined two bills into one, in an effort to meet the federal deadline for passing Real ID legislation.
Alaska’s waiver from the federal law expires on June 6, and unless legislators pass a Real ID measure, residents will lose the right to use state driver’s licenses or state identification cards to enter military bases. Then on Jan. 22, 2018, Alaska state IDs and driver’s licenses will no longer be accepted by TSA at airports.
If the state legislation passes, Alaska’s waiver would be extended to give the state time to implement Real ID compliant driver’s licenses and IDs.
Theoretically if the Senate had passed the House version, or the House had passed the Senate version, the state legislation could have gone to a conference committee.
Since there are two difference versions, it is unclear how it will shake out,” said Mike Mason, press secretary for the House Majority Coalition.
Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks, who carried the bill in the House floor, said he sympathizes with other representatives in the majority and minority in favor of and in opposition to the bill. Still because of the complications Alaskans would face if the state refuses to comply with the federal law, the Legislature has to work to do what’s best for Alaskans, he said.
Mason said that legislators have been advised by the state’s congressional delegation that there has been no effort to alter federal regulations now in place.
This corroborates advice from the Department of Homeland Security that most states by now either have already passed Real ID legislation or are in the process of doing do.
“The Real ID legislation is a key priority of the administration and allows the Division of Motor Vehicles to spend money to comply with the federal Real ID program” said Sen. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, in a statement released by the Senate Majority on May 13. “The bill must be passed by the Legislature before May 17 in order to avoid serious consequences for Alaskans working or traveling on military bases or traveling by airplane.
“The state Department of Administration recently sent the Legislature a letter articulating the deadline and the ramifications should the Real ID bills fail to pass.”
