Real ID showdown averted for now

By McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The clash between the states and the federal government over nationwide rules to make driver's licenses more secure has ended - for now. A truce, of sorts, between the 50 states and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has kicked the issue down the road for the next president and Congress to hash out almost two years from now.

In a game of chicken over whether the federal government actually would pursue its enforcement threats, Maine last week became the last state to receive an extension to comply with the Real ID Act, the federal law aimed at keeping driver's licenses out of the hands of terrorists and illegal aliens.

Without that extension, residents of Maine and the other states that flirted with the March 31 deadline could not have used their driver's licenses to board airplanes and enter federal buildings after the rules take effect May 11.

DHS now says all states are in compliance with Real ID, but opposition to the act remains strong. Bills introduced in 11 states this year would bar participation in Real ID, including one that has made it to the desk of Republican Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, who has long opposed the law, according to his spokesman.