Legislative session ends REAL ID bill left undone
A REAL ID bill was one of a number of items the Minnesota Legislature did not get done as the clock on the 2016 session ran out at midnight. Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said negotiations were under way well past 11 p-m Sunday night, but the House didn’t send a bill over to the Senate. Bakk says, “They certainly could have stayed a little longer and potentially sent us something on REAL ID, and we could have considered it.”
Negotiations were stuck over the controversial issue of drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. The federal government is requiring the state to comply with REAL ID requirements or at some point Minnesotans will not be able to use their drivers licenses to board commercial flights or enter federal facilities.