REAL ID comes, at last, to Pennnsylvania

In the months and years immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, making certain that terrorists would never again be able to plan and execute assaults of such lethality became the front-burner imperative of officials across all levels of government and law enforcement.
One component of that effort was a 2005 law passed by a Republican-majority Congress dubbed REAL ID that established minimum security standards for driver’s licenses and state-issued identification cards. In order to be compliant, identification cards must include de rigueur elements like a unique number, the card-holder’s primary address and its date of issuance, along with a digital photo that has been taken with facial image capture technology, and anti-fraud features like watermarks and holograms.
Most states have gotten on board with REAL ID requirements, but there have been a handful of holdouts, including Kentucky, South Carolina, Maine and Minnesota. Pennsylvania was part of this group until last week, when Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill finally allowing the commonwealth’s residents to get IDs that meet REAL ID requirements.
Both the state House and Senate assented overwhelmingly.
It marked quite a contrast from just five years ago, when then-Gov. Tom Corbett approved a law prohibiting Pennsylvania from implementing the REAL ID law. Corbett and legislators who opposed it said it was an example of federal overreach, too costly and would function as a kind of intrusive, privacy-demolishing national ID. The measure that Wolf signed, which overturns the 2012 law, seeks a kind of middle ground – allowing residents the choice of either a license or identification card that meets REAL ID requirements, or one that does not. Projections are that compliant IDs will be available in March 2019.
The cost has yet to be determined, though in 2012 it was estimated that it would cost about $100 million to implement and about $40 million every year to maintain.
Nevertheless, possessing IDs that do not meet REAL ID requirements would have been a monumental hassle for Pennsylvania residents who frequently travel by air or access federal buildings or military bases.
For even the most mundane domestic flights, residents would have needed a passport if they did not otherwise have identification that met REAL ID standards.
“This bill achieves the primary goal of allowing Pennsylvania commuters and businesses to avoid disruptions related to noncompliance,” Wolf explained.
“PennDOT can begin working with the federal government to update its systems to complete compliance. We will work dilligently to ensure the process is as consumer-friendly and affordable as possible.”
It took long enough, but we should be glad that Pennsylvania has fallen in line with most of the rest of the country on REAL ID.