An Article of Interest . . .

Maine gets a two-day reprieve on Real ID law Portland Press Herald, April 1, 2008 Maine residents could be barred from using driver's licenses to board planes or enter federal buildings. By JONATHAN E. KAPLAN, Washington D.C. Correspondent The Department of Homeland Security avoided a showdown with Maine on Monday by giving the state two extra days to agree in principle to upgrade its driver's license. Unless the state uses the extension to show that it is complying with the federal Real ID law, however, Maine residents could be barred from using their driver's license to board commercial airliners and enter federal buildings. To avoid such restrictions, the state must either stop issuing licenses to illegal immigrants or make sure that a license expires on the same day as a person's visa, according to a copy of a letter that Stewart Baker, the Homeland Security assistant secretary for policy, sent to Gov. John Baldacci. Maine is one of six states that allow illegal immigrants to apply for licenses. Baker asked that Maine issue different licenses to illegal immigrants, check an applicant's legal status with Homeland Security and take a photograph as the first step in the process of issuing a license. He also asked Maine to employ facial recognition technology to ensure that one person cannot obtain multiple driver's licenses. Baldacci has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to respond. David Farmer, a spokesman for Baldacci, confirmed that the provisions had been the subject of talks with Homeland Security. He said the governor had not received formal notification by Monday evening. Earlier in the day, the Department of Homeland Security granted an extension to South Carolina, one of a few states, including Maine, with laws forbidding state participation in Real ID. Maine and South Carolina were the last holdouts. The potential crisis has been brewing for months. Congress passed the Real ID law in 2005. It requires states to upgrade their driver's licenses to prevent forgeries and make it harder for non-U.S. citizens to obtain them. But state and local officials and some U.S. lawmakers raised privacy concerns and charged that the law was an unfunded mandate. Seventeen states, including Maine, passed legislation opting out of the law and prohibiting state funds from being used to implement it. Once the level of opposition became clear, Homeland Security officials relented and allowed states to extend the deadline for compliance. But some states requested an extension while admitting to the agency that they would not comply with the law. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, pressed Baldacci to ask Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for an extension. She even sent Baldacci a letter last month telling him what to say in the letter. "I am hopeful that with these negotiations, Maine residents will avoid the tremendous inconvenience that would otherwise occur when they tried to use their driver's licenses for air travel beginning on May 12," Collins said Monday in a prepared statement. Last week, Baldacci sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security saying the state had upgraded its driver's licenses and complied with most of the agency's new rules. But he did not ask Chertoff to extend the March 31 deadline. "The biggest issue is on technical details of the issuance of our driver's licenses," said Farmer, the governor's spokesman. "Perhaps if we had asked for an extension, we would not have had to go into a level of detail. Since we did not, our processes are being vetted very carefully." "The governor's goal is to make sure that Maine people are not put through some unnecessary rigmarole" after May 11, Farmer said. Baldacci and his aides spent the weekend negotiating with Baker. Chertoff had been traveling in the Middle East and returned this weekend, said Laura Keehner, his spokeswoman. Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe, also a Republican, weighed in on the negotiations Monday when they returned to Washington after a two-week recess. Collins, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has oversight over the Homeland Security Department, made contact with Baldacci and Chertoff on Monday afternoon, said her spokeswoman, Jen Burita. Maine's two Democratic congressmen have little interest in mediating a solution. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, who has proposed legislation to repeal the Real ID law, encouraged his former colleague in Congress, Baldacci, to stand firm against Chertoff. "I made the case that we ought to push back as hard as we can because what they're proposing is to coerce states," Allen said. "This kind of threat to require passports or similar identification from a particular state is not appropriate." Rep. Michael Michaud co-sponsored Allen's bill. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report.