STATEMENT OF SENATOR VAN DE PUTTE REGARDING FINAL REAL ID REGULATIONS

Senator Leticia Van de Putte said the following today in reaction to the release of the final Real ID Regulations:

"As past-president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), we have been working for the last two years with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist in formulating rules for the Real ID Act that meet security objectives, while not bankrupting our states.

"While I am relieved to see the final regulations appear that DHS has heeded many state concerns, I remain apprehensive about the costs. Real ID requirements without new federal funds will become an unfunded mandate depleting state resources needed for critical infrastructure/transportation.

"I am confident Texas will most certainly have to ask for an extension; and I look forward to working with Senator Carona in his leadership position, as Chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security, on this crucial issue."