FRANKFORT, Ky. — After years of delays, there is not much more time left for Kentucky when it comes to getting its citizens REAL IDs as the October 1 deadline draws closer.
“I will admit, this administration has inherited a mess,” Beshear said at a news conference in Frankfort Wednesday afternoon.
After Oct. 1, a REAL ID will be required to fly on a commercial plane in the US or to enter a military base or federal building that requires identification.
“We must do everything we can to give Kentuckians the best opportunity to secure an ID that will let them fly to go see their grandkids or loved ones, that will allow them to get into a federal building for what might be a very important hearing,” Beshear said.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced last September its plans to open regional centers where people would be able to receive their REAL IDs, but until Wednesday, there were only two offices in Bowling Green and Frankfort. Beshear announced the addition of two more licensing offices in Somerset and Paducah and also promised no one would be turned away from any office regardless of what county they live in.
“If you are in Frankfort, you can come to this facility and get your REAL ID,” he said.
A spokesperson for Beshear told WHAS11 while no one will be turned away from any office, the administration is recommending that people applying out of their region do so at the Franklin County office because, at this time, the other offices are not equipped to handle a high volume.
Transportation officials also confirmed that regional offices based in Louisville and Lexington are also underway but no set date has been announced for their openings. According to officials, the goal is to get all the regional licensing offices up and running by the early summer.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said there is around $4 million allocated for the REAL ID initiative in the budget for the 2020 fiscal year and at the moment, a projected 130 people will be trained to work in the regional centers to help with the rollout.
The REAL ID initiative will now be directly under Gray. Beshear also announced Sarah Jackson will be the lead on the initiative as the project manager. The short-term goal is to get every Kentuckian REAL ID-compliant, but Beshear’s administration will also work on simplifying the process of receiving identification for the future.
“It’s crushing when someone has driven 10 miles or one mile or arranged for a babysitter at home just so they could go make the application and they get there and they don’t have the correct documents,” Jackson said.
“I sometimes say that when you got a problem, you got to put a bear hug around it and wrestle it to the ground and that is exactly what we are doing today,” Gray said.
IDs like driver’s licenses that are not considered REAL IDs can still be used after the Oct. 1 deadline until their expiration dates. A driver’s license will still allow its holder to drive, register to vote, access federal benefits and buy age-restricted products like alcohol and cigarettes.
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