TSA could reject Texas drivers' licenses beginning in 2016

Photo: Beaumont Passengers on their way to Houston go through the TSA security...

Due to a standards issue with the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, a simple state driver's license might not be enough to get travelers through airport security.

A New York Times report this week warns that the DHS and the TSA could begin enforcing a decade-old law that calls for states to change their IDs to conform to certain federal standards.

Texas is one of those states with IDs that will not be in compliance with federal standards once an extension runs out October 2016. A second form of government ID will be needed after this date runs out if a change is not made to the IDs.

Other states in the same boat as Texas include Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, Arkansas, and Oregon among others.

According to the NYT some states have even passed laws which bar states from letting their DMVs make the changes to IDs to be compliant.

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The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 and it was part of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the feds “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.”

The feds would like state IDs to be more counterfeit and tamper-proof. Failure to do so could make them easier to be compromised by those with terrorism in mind.

Privacy experts and advocates worry that having more data stored on the cards could lead to it being more shareable, something that they don’t want.

Making it harder for the residents of states who do not comply with the federal ID standards to participate in commercial air travel is seen by some as a way for the feds to hit states where it hurts, forcing compliance.

Some privacy experts think that the ID standards are a blow to personal privacy, while others say that the law is a way for the government to bully states into changes that they do not approve of.

The worry is that this is the first step to a national ID card which for some is concerning. The DHS has said on its own website that this is not the case, saying that they are not implementing a national ID system.