Dayton: No Cause for Alarm but Need for Action on State IDs

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton says a federal warning that Minnesota driver's licenses eventually won't be accepted at airport checkpoints should spur state lawmakers into action.

Dayton reacted Wednesday to the Department of Homeland Security's denial of a request for a waiver for implementing REAL ID, a security-enhanced license that will soon be required for commercial air travel and entry into some federal buildings.

The Democratic governor says there's no need for public alarm about being prevented from traveling in the near term, but adds that Minnesota lawmakers must show movement toward adoption before April. He hopes legislators will agree to a special session where they could lift a 2009 ban on planning for the REAL ID conversion.

Minnesota is among a few states that have resisted the shift to enhanced licenses.