AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has signed a bill that will put Maine on track to complying with federal Real ID standards and avoiding problems for Mainers accessing federal facilities or boarding domestic flights.
LePage, who had urged the Legislature to quickly pass LD 306, made the announcement Friday morning.
“It is in the best interest of Mainers for state officials to unite in going forward with Real ID implementation,” LePage said in a news release.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, a former Maine secretary of state, requires the secretary of state and Bureau of Motor Vehicles to begin a range of compliance measures, including the use of retinal scanning, facial recognition or fingerprint technology to produce a driver’s license or nondriver identification card.
The bill also cancels exemptions from the requirement of documenting legal presence in the United States for a licence or ID card renewal.
The bill appropriates $344,000 in the next fiscal year, $851,000 in the year after that and more than $1.1 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 for compliance costs.
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