Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Statement on Commonwealth’s Slow-Moving Progress to Comply with the Federal REAL ID Act
This morning I released the following statement
regarding a letter to Governor Deval Patrick from the Senate Republican Caucus
seeking clarification as to why the Massachusetts Department of Transportation
has not made significant effort to comply with the Federal REAL ID Act of
2005. The Act, which codifies the
standards of state licenses and ids, was passed following a recommendation by
the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (“9/11
Commission”):
“Instead
of being ahead of the curve, Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts Department
of Transportation has made little progress thus far in the federally mandated
REAL ID Act. With little movement, the
Senate Republican Caucus has exceedingly high concerns as to the adverse
effects of having an outdated, unrecognized state ID in the eyes of the Federal
Government. The Real ID Act is extremely
clear that federal agencies cannot accept state IDs that don’t meet a certain
minimum of standards, and if Massachusetts does not move expeditiously to be
compliant with federal law, we fear that there will be major implications, such
as citizens not being able to board commercial airplanes, until the Governor
and his administration rectifies the situation.
We
are now calling on the Governor to make clear the progress, if any, that has
been made in achieving federal compliance while there is still time to avoid what
could be a disastrous scenario for the citizens of the Commonwealth. If the state is failing to stride towards
compliance, we ask Governor Patrick to provide the reasons for that failure. A state issued license is among the most utilized
forms of identification, and the value of the Massachusetts license would be
diminished greatly if this administration does not act accordingly.”