A Missouri House committee is discussing letting residents decide to have a digital driver’s license.
KOLR in Springfield reports the traditional plastic ID would still be issued to everyone, but under the proposed legislation drivers could pay an additional fee to have it on their phone as well.
State Representative Nate Tate (R-St. Clair) says, “What it does is it allows you to get your driver’s license on your mobile device.”
Representative Tate believes it’s much easier to forget your wallet than to forget your phone these days. That’s one reason he’s introduced House Bill 22-80.
The proposed legislation would allow Missourians who head to the DMV to obtain or renew a license, the option of paying $50 to have a digital ID on their phone.
“Now the way it would work is that you would download an app from the App Store.” Rep. Tate says. “A secured app and would have to put in a fingerprint or facial recognition or a pin number something to that effect and then the app would open up and you could see the ID.”
Committee members on the House Transportation Committee raised questions about security. A representative from the Missouri Department of Revenue, Joshua Shewmaker, testified in support of the bill.
Shewmaker says, “From the other states that have implemented this they have not had any kind of security concerns as of yet.”
There is an estimated cost of slightly more than $1 million for the state to implement digital IDs.
The representative sponsoring the bill says he believes the fee paid by those who want a digital ID would help offset that cost. He adds that if you can’t find your phone, the Department of Revenue could still protect your ID.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI