U.S. issues new plan to replace drivers' licenses

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government unveiled new security requirements for Americans' driver's licenses with a get-tough message on Friday for states that have refused to comply due to cost and privacy concerns.

Under the program announced by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, driver's licenses or other identification issued by states must be electronically readable, with new safeguards to protect against fraud.

Congress passed legislation in 2005 mandating the so-called Real ID program, after some of the suicide hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks were found to have obtained U.S. driver's licenses.

The program takes effect in stages beginning this May, and the first actual licenses are due to be issued by 2011. But 17 states have passed legislation opposing the program, including six that have banned participation.

Unless those six states -- Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington -- seek an extension by May, residents will have to submit other identification such as a passport, or face extra screening if they want to board a commercial flight, Chertoff told a news conference.

"It's going to be inconvenient. There's no question the law creates a very powerful incentive for states getting on board with this process," he said.

According to Chertoff, the new licenses would also be a barrier to identity theft and illegal immigration -- which has become a hot election issue, especially among Republicans.

"There are three categories of people who will be very unhappy about secure driver's licenses: terrorists ... illegal immigrants ... and con men," he said.