Anti-Terror Legislation Expected to Lengthen DMV Lines

"I can't offer a whole lot until we have gotten through that review, but we anticipate a significant impact to our agency operations,'' said Pam Goheen, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

For Maryland's 3.8 million motorists, there is an additional wrinkle. Maryland is one of nine states that do not require people applying for a driver's license to prove that they are not in the country illegally. Unlike Virginia and the District, Maryland accepts driver's licenses issued by foreign governments as proof of identification.

Under the new requirements, all applicants would have to present documents to prove that they are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants or visitors. Illegal immigrants could obtain a license for driving, but that document would not be recognized as identification to enter a federal building or to board an airplane.

In the short term, Maryland drivers seeking to renew their licenses probably would have to appear in person to present proof of legal U.S. residency, Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said. That step might eliminate renewals by mail, at least temporarily.

Last month, Maryland motorists spent an average of 36 minutes in line for services at Motor Vehicle Administration offices. Based on his initial reading of the measure, Flanagan said, "We would have concerns about the inconvenience to our customers from longer waiting lines and uncompensated additional cost to the state."

Outside the MVA office in Largo this week, more than three dozen people lined the sidewalk before the doors opened at 8:30 a.m. Drivers expressed concern about the cost, and the possibility of handing over copies of their financial records for a nationwide database.

"I always worry about government getting too deep into people's private lives," said Brian Fraiser, 45, a U.S. postal worker from Temple Hills. "It's not going to make me feel any safer."

Jamal Abuawad, a 36-year-old carpenter from Crofton, said: "More bureaucracy, more paperwork, more expensive for taxpayers."

Joseph Cribbs, a food services manager from Greenbelt, said Maryland should join other states in requiring proof of legal residency. After taking his 16-year-old daughter, Colleen, to apply for her first driver's license, Cribbs said, "We shouldn't be attracting security risks by having weaker laws."

The National Conference of State Legislatures, which opposed the Real ID Act, has estimated it would cost states $500 million to $750 million to train workers and upgrade computer systems to digitize documents and share information between the states and the federal government.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the bill's sponsor, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), said the amount is $100 million over five years.

"It's a very small price to pay for closing a large security loophole that we have with some states," said Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Sensenbrenner.

Staff writers Timothy Dwyer and Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.