Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signs Real ID bill
Apr 14, 2015, 3:30 PM | Updated: 3:44 pm
The Arizona Department of Transportation will eventually be able to issue driver’s licenses that comply with the federal REAL ID Act after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law Monday.
The law allows Arizonans to board flights without needing a passport or some other form of federal identification. Arizona’s identification change will go into effect July 3, months ahead of the federal government’s schedule January 2016 changeover.
“Now that the bill has been signed, we can now start working with Homeland Security to start developing this new credential,” ADOT’s Ryan Harding said. “But the first thing we need to do per this new law, is we have to go and request a wavier from participating in the Real ID Act from Homeland Security.”
The request is expected to be denied. An extension would then be needed to implement the program and allow current IDs to be accepted.
ADOT will update the public as information becomes available and when the new IDs will be ready.
KTAR’s Martha Maurer contributed to this report.
