COLUMBUS, Ohio - New federal security rules for issuing driver's licenses could cost $11 billion to implement, raising concerns among states about paying for the changes, according to a national survey of states released Thursday.
"There's no question that state legislators believe driver's licenses should be as secure as is possible," said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures which helped conduct the survey. "The $11 billion question is, 'Who's going to pay for it?'"
The requirements — which are not final — are part of the Real ID Act of 2005, which grew out of a recommendation by the Sept. 11 commission.
The law requires states to incorporate common security features to prevent tampering or counterfeiting, such as using standard materials in every state to print the cards. States will have to verify the legitimacy of documents used to obtain a license and buy equipment to digitally store those documents.
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