Senate rejects Real ID bill that would have started implementation

Democrats joined with a handful of Republicans to defeat the Real ID bill. The vote further delays resolution of a plan to ensure that Minnesotans will be able to board commercial flights without a hassle when stricter federal security standards kick in next year.

Senate Republicans, who hold a slim 34-33 majority, plowed ahead with the vote, knowing that some of their own caucus members remain firmly opposed to Real ID.

Senator Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, said the bill didn't get the bipartisan support it needed to pass. Gazelka blamed the defeat on DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's desire to allow unauthorized immigrants to get drivers' licenses.

"I'm disappointed that the governor worked with the Senate Democrats last week. It seems like that's what changed the course of this," he said. "People want to fly next January and this will put a real damper on this if we don't get it done."

Sen. Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, the bill's chief sponsor, criticized Democrats for turning against a Real ID measure that is nearly identical to one they supported last session.

"I don't understand why they want to hold up Minnesotans having some certainty about how they're going to travel, how they're going to visit their children on military bases, how they're going to visit federal buildings, like the White House, moving forward," he said.

Senate Democrats support the idea of someday allowing driver's licenses for unauthorized immigrants, and they are concerned the Senate bill would close that door. They tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill and take out the language that they view as unnecessarily restrictive.

Sen. Melisa Franzen, DFL-Edina, said that section of the bill would further divide the state.

"It's borderline offensive that here in Minnesota we are talking about restricting our Minnesotans and the people that are in this state further than what the federal government needs us to do," she said. "Why would we go in that direction?"

Some Republicans oppose the bill over long-held concerns about federal government overreach and data privacy.

Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, led the effort in 2009 to prohibit Real ID planning in Minnesota. Limmer said he still can't find a reason to support it.

"It gives the federal government an opportunity to create a driver's license that creates a chilling combination of personal data access and endless surveillance opportunities," Limmer said.

Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo, compared the federal pressure on states over Real ID compliance to prostitution.

"Fifty states are being subjected to the pimping of the federal government," he said.

The Republican-controlled House passed a Real ID bill last month that put in statute the current administrative rules that prohibit licenses for unauthorized immigrants.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said the Senate vote should serve as a warning to the House.

"The House has plenty of margin over there to pass almost anything they want to pass," he said. "I think they need to understand that at the end of the day it will have to be a bipartisan deal for things to pass the Senate."