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Real ID Act a blow to state DMV budget
Unfunded law will take effect 2008
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE -- North Carolina must figure out how to pay for a new federal law that tightens access to driver's licenses by, among other things, requiring applicants to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency.
North Carolina is one of 10 states where such proof isn't required. But it must do so beginning 2008 because Congress passed the Real ID Act last month.
"It was an unfunded mandate, so it's going to stress the budgets of states around the country that are already in a stressed situation," DMV commissioner George Tatum said.
Tatum declined to estimate the costs to North Carolina. He expects to give the General Assembly a figure in mid-June.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who sponsored the bill, said he thought it would cost the average state less than $2 million over five years. But Virginia transportation officials estimated it will cost $237 million to comply with the law. And The National Conference of State Legislatures puts the national price tag at up to $750 million.
"We also forecast significant indirect costs [in] personnel that can run this into the billions," said Cheye Calvo, the group's transportation director.
The new law requires the presentation and verification of at least four types of identification: a photo ID, a birth certificate, proof of a Social Security number, and a document showing a person's name and address.
"How far do you go with authentication?" Tatum asked.
One problem is verifying birth certificates and similar documents of people born in other states or countries. State officials are looking at the possibility of a central verification system.
That would mean that employees with access to private records would have to undergo more thorough background checks. Tatum said he also has staffers doing "risk assessments" at the North Carolina's 127 driver's license offices.
Both the state Senate and House have bills in judiciary committees -- Senate Bill 419 filed in March and House Bill 40 filed in February -- that would require applicants for drivers' licenses to prove they are U.S. citizens or are here with authorization.
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