HAVING rejected the same common-sense proposal a year ago, Oklahoma lawmakers apparently will get another opportunity in 2017 to give motorists the option of making their driver's licenses compliant with federal law. This is an issue the state needs to put in its rear-view mirror.

The Real ID Act was approved by Congress in 2005 in response to the 9/11 attacks, and was intended to make it more difficult for criminals to obtain fake identification cards. Oklahoma lawmakers flatly rejected it in 2007, citing concerns about government overreach, privacy and compliance costs.

While conservatives are generally most vocal in their opposition to the law, its rejection here was bipartisan. The 2007 bill, which specifically forbids the state from complying, was approved without opposition in the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by a Democratic governor, Brad Henry.

But the state's decision has the potential to adversely impact everyday Oklahomans — namely, by keeping them from using their driver's license as identification to board domestic flights. State officials have been able to get the feds to grant extensions on the timeline to come into compliance, but those have run out.