Need a passport to fly? Maybe, maybe not

Beginning sometime next year, Louisiana residents may be required to have a federally issued identification card, instead of a state driver’s license, to travel on commercial airlines if the state doesn’t comply with a federal law in time.
With the REAL ID Act of 2005, Congress established minimum standards for producing state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website.
The act prohibits federal agencies from accepting state driver’s licenses and identity cards that don’t meet federal standards to access federal facilities, enter nuclear power plants, and board federally regulated commercial aircraft, the website says.
In October, The Advocate reported that the federal government extended the deadline for Louisiana to comply with the REAL ID Act. Louisiana had been one of a handful of states that were not compliant or had not received an extension, the article said.
The deadline extension goes through October 2016, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany said. However, that extension only applies to the non-aviation enforcement requirements of the act because the department hasn’t yet given notice of an official date for aviation implementation, he said.
The Department of Homeland Security won’t begin requiring full compliance for airports until 2016 at the earliest, according to its website.
Most of the state’s congressional delegation joined Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson in requesting more time before authorities forbid the use of the state’s driver’s licenses as identification to access federal courthouses, military bases and other facilities, The Advocate article said.
Louisiana legislators and Gov. Bobby Jindal have opposed REAL ID compliance.
“Louisiana families shouldn’t be turned away at federal facilities or airports because their state-issued drivers’ licenses are non-compliant,” Boustany, R-Lafayette, said Tuesday in an email.
“Louisiana law enforcement says we are approaching compliance with this law, but we need just a little more time.”
Once the federal government requires compliance with the act, a driver’s license or identification card from a noncompliant state may only be used in conjunction with a second form of identification for boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, the homeland security website says.
Any federally issued identification card, including passports, will be accepted to enter federal facilities or airports, Boustany’s spokesman said.
The homeland security website says that the department will ensure the public has at least 120 days’ notice before any changes are made that might affect their travel planning.
Once the Department of Homeland Security gives an implementation deadline for the part of the act pertaining to airports, Louisiana’s congressional delegation will be able to request an extension, Boustany’s spokesman said.
The St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court’s Office in Franklin, which is among the accepting agencies for passports in the parish, hasn’t seen any uptick yet in passport applications due to the potential new federal requirements, according to an official. The clerk of court issued 13 passports in September, six passports in October, one in November and none so far in December.
Other passport accepting facilities in St. Mary Parish include post offices at 1112 Brashear Ave. in Morgan City and 600 Catherine St. in Patterson. according to iafdb.travel.state.gov.