by Laura Turner

The federal Real ID Act ? which creates national standards for issuing state driver?s licenses and identification cards with the goal of greater security ? will cost states more than $11 billion over the five-year implementation, according to a comprehensive analysis released Sept. 21 by the National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

States will likely be required to reissue driver?s licenses and identification cards to all 245 million current holders within the five years; establish on-site identification verification procedures at the source of issuance and meet specific security and production requirements for the new card.

?States feel it is vitally important for Congress and the administration to understand the substantial fiscal and operational cost of altering state systems,? said NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach. ?This report identifies the most significant costs of Real ID compliance and describes the impact to states? business processes.?

NCSL Executive Director William T. Pound addressed the financial burden on states saying, ?This is a very large unfunded mandate. The $11 billion question is, ?Who?s going to pay for it???

Detailed data provided by the 47 jurisdictions responding to a survey conducted by the three groups indicates that among the costs of the changes to the driver?s licensing process are a one-time calculable expense of nearly $1 billion and ongoing costs of more than $10.1 billion for the first five-year enrollment period.

The report also suggests additional costs, such as the added time and effort citizens will spend to comply with the state motor vehicle department.

Anticipating three to four identity documents per applicant, with more than 80 million transactions performed annually, applicant processing time will more than double for citizens in most states, with waits in some areas increasing by up to 200 percent.

Several provisions under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security, which were not addressed by the survey, could potentially further impact citizens and state motor vehicle departments and add significantly to the costs.

Real ID is currently the top issue for the two state organizations. While local jurisdictions do not have a role to play in issuing driver?s licenses, they will likely be impacted by such a heavy fiscal burden on states.

Among recommendations to facilitate a more realistic approach, the state associations asked the federal government to extend the compliance deadline; provide the funds necessary to comply; provide the necessary federal electronic verification systems; require states to employ electronic verification systems only as they become available; implement a 10-year re-enrollment schedule; adopt uniform naming conventions to facilitate electronic verification between files; allow reciprocity for persons already vetted by the federal government; establish card security based on performance ? not technology; and grant the Secretary of Homeland Security the flexibility to recognize innovation at the state level.