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Published Tuesday | February 5, 2008
(Nebraska State) Senators asked to back ID act
BY LESLIE REED
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN β€” Lawmakers were asked Monday to give the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles authority to begin shutting down county driver testing stations as it prepares to convert the state's driver's licenses to nationally accepted identification cards.

To comply with the federal Real ID Act, the department would issue driver's licenses at 27 locations in the state, said the department's director, Beverly Neth.

If the Legislature grants the department's request, county treasurers no longer could handle the transactions, and Nebraskans would not be able to obtain driver's licenses in all 93 county seats.

Testifying before the Legislature's Transportation Committee, Neth urged state senators to endorse implementing Real ID, even though the Legislature last year voted 37-0 to adopt a resolution opposing the federal law because of its cost and concerns about citizen privacy.

Passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Real ID Act requires proof of identity to obtain or renew a driver's license or ID card. It requires states to verify documents presented as proof of identity and to store copies in a database that can be shared among states.

Compliance will require an overhaul of Nebraska's driver's licensing system. Nebraska is among 17 states that have passed legislation objecting to Real ID.

At the request of Gov. Dave Heineman, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month gave Nebraska more time to comply with the federal law.

Under the extension, a Nebraska driver's license will remain a valid form of identification to be used to board airplanes and enter federal buildings through Dec. 31, 2009.

Had Heineman not obtained the extension, Neth said, Nebraskans could have been required as early as May to obtain passports in order to fly or to enter federal buildings where identification is required.

Representatives of ACLU Nebraska and the Appleseed Center for the Law in the Public Interest urged state lawmakers not to retreat from last year's opposition.

Laurel Marsh of ACLU Nebraska said the national identification card is another step toward a "surveillance society."

"When did that become OK in the United States β€” to ask people to present a standardized set of papers in order to move freely about the country?" Marsh asked.

State Sen. Carol Hudkins of Malcolm sponsored the Real ID bill, Legislative Bill 911, at the request of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

She said she dislikes the federal mandate. It will cost about $20 million to start the program, which will require more than 130 new full-time state employees, and then about $15 million per year, she said.

The cost of a driver's license probably would increase from the current $23.75 to $53. But the cost of not moving forward could be more severe, Hudkins said.

"We have to think about our citizens," she said, adding that failing to enact Real ID will force many Nebraskans to get passports. "There are a lot of people who don't get that document."

She also said the program would prevent document fraud by illegal immigrants and others, as well as being used for national security purposes.

State Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine, sponsor of last year's resolution opposing Real ID, declined to predict how the Legislature might respond to the bill. Fischer is chairman of the Transportation Committee, which took no action on the measure after Monday's hearing.

The Department of Motor Vehicles originally proposed 19 testing sites but added eight more at Heineman's request, Neth said. She said 84 percent of Nebraskans already get driver's licenses at one of the 27 sites.

Nebraska law allows residents to obtain licenses at any testing station in the state. If the Legislature passes the bill during this session, Neth said the Department of Motor Vehicles would begin phasing out the county driver testing stations in 2009.