(Oklahoma City, Okla.) In light of the upcoming expiration of Oklahoma’s extension to comply with REAL ID, the office of Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has issued a news release carifying a few points on REAL ID, the impact on Oklahomans, and plans to address the issue in the future.
1. While it is true the state’s extension to comply with REAL ID does expire this Saturday, October 10, no federal facilities in Oklahoma have notified the state that Oklahoma residents will be affected in any way. Several facilities have actively confirmed with the state that an Oklahoma driver’s license is a sufficient form of identification. We do not expect any immediate impact on Oklahoma residents within the state of Oklahoma as a result of the current extension expiring.
2. The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety recently requested a continuation of the state’s REAL ID extension.
3. Governor Fallin and lawmakers continue to discuss solutions that would ensure Oklahomans are not subject to inconvenience when accessing federal buildings or when travelling in the future.
What is REAL ID? (From the official Homeland Security website: www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs)
REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the states and the Federal Government to improve the reliability and accuracy of state-issued identification documents, which should inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification. REAL ID implements a 9/11 Commission recommendation urging the federal government to “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.”
DHS is implementing REAL ID through a period of phased enforcement over the next several years. In particular, the date for implementing the prohibition on boarding aircraft travel will be set after an evaluation of earlier phases and will not occur sooner than 2016.
A 2007 Oklahoma law bars the state from implementing the REAL ID Act’s security features for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. Those features include digital storage of the documents used to verify identity, anti-tampering technology and radio frequency identification chips.
Passports, military identification cards and some tribal identification cards are among the documents considered compliant ID.
***
