Lawmakers' inaction could foil Arizonans' air travel

A controversial driver's-license bill that is stalled in the Arizona Legislature could stall airline travelers next year.

The "REAL ID" bill was written to give residents the option of getting an Arizona driver's license that complies with federal Homeland Security Department provisions. Without such an identification card, travelers will not be allowed to board a commercial flight after Jan. 19 unless they produce another form of federally approved ID, such as a passport.

Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, introduced Senate Bill 1273 to avoid what he says could be a disaster when the January deadline arrives. Many travelers don't have a passport, he said, and the cost of getting one is much higher than a driver's license — potentially nine times as much.

Worsley's bill passed the Senate, but House Speaker David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, failed to assign it to a committee in time for consideration. However, Gowan's spokesman said Friday that the speaker wants the bill to move forward and is exploring "procedural options."

For his part, Worsley is working to have the bill heard by the House Appropriations Committee, the last refuge for bills that didn't receive a committee hearing before last week's deadline. He's renamed it the "Voluntary Travel ID" in an effort to tamp down concerns that Arizona is bending to a federal dictate.

"We're not mandating it," Worsley said of the requirement that air travelers possess a federally compliant identification to board a plane by next January. "We're not lifting the ban. This is giving people a choice."

Arizona lawmakers outlawed the issuance of secure identification cards in 2008 over concerns the federal requirements imposed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks reached too deeply into citizens' private lives. Arizona is one of seven states without an ID that meets the federal standards, although 20 states have been granted extensions to comply with the requirements.

Worsley's bill would give Arizonans the option of applying for a license that would meet the federal requirements. Applicants would have to show two documents confirming their permanent residence and return to a Motor Vehicle Division office every eight years for a new photo.

"There's no chip in the card, no RF (radio-frequency tracking device) in the card — unlike the passport, which has a chip in it," Worsley said.

Without action, Worsley said, lawmakers risk being called back to the Capitol before year's end.

"Do you want to have a special session?" he asked. "That's where we're going when you have 600,000 people that want to get on a plane."

Opponents of the bill in the Legislature point to the seven-year-old ban and say there are alternatives to issuing a federally compliant driver's license.

For example, Arizona could apply for a waiver, said Senate President Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert. However, Homeland Security offers extensions only for states that are working toward compliance but have complications in meeting the federal deadlines.

"I'm a big believer in skepticism toward the government," Biggs said, especially when it comes to privacy issues. "It's hard for me to believe the TSA (the federal Transportation Security Administration) is going to reject a legitimate driver's license."

If it does, there's always a passport, he said, something he added he would use next year if the TSA follows through on its insistence that a conventional Arizona driver's license won't suffice.

Biggs was one of 10 senators who voted against SB 1273 earlier this month; however, it got 20 votes in favor and moved on to the House.

Travelers such as Rich Luhr say the lack of state action could make airline trips more complicated.

"I kind of hoped Arizona would have just gotten on board with the REAL ID when they had a chance," Luhr said during a recent trip through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Tucson resident is editor and publisher of Airstream Life, a travel magazine.

"Now we're looking at a bit of a crisis: How are we going to take all the millions of Arizona residents and drag them in for a new photo?" Luhr added. "That's not something you do overnight."

Problems have already cropped up.

Phoenix Councilwoman Kate Gallego said she was turned away from the Federal Emergency Management Agency last year, and again earlier this year, when she traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet about relief from the floods her south Phoenix district suffered last year.

The federal government began phasing in the requirement for a secure identification early last year, with airport restrictions scheduled to start no sooner than Jan. 19, 2016.

Gallego said she had to move her FEMA meeting to an off-site location. Earlier this year, when she showed up without the required identification, she was able to have someone get her passport to her.

"It seems to me this is something that could ruin a honeymoon or a job interview," she said.

The lack of an affordable federal ID also could affect emergency travelers, such as people needing to attend a funeral, she said. A passport costs $110, plus $25 for a first-time application. An expedited passport costs an additional $60, plus delivery fees.

Worsley proposed a $15 fee for the optional Arizona license but later amended the bill to allow the MVD director to set the cost.

Most states have passed laws creating a secure ID that complies with federal standards.

Of the states still without such an ID, bills are pending in Arizona, Illinois and Washington. New Hampshire's Legislature rejected a bill to create a compliant ID, but a similar bill passed in Idaho, according to a summary from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Rhode Island and West Virginia have bills pending that would reject participation in the federal program.

For information on the range of passport fees, visit http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/fees.html

Reporter Brandon Kutzler contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com.