Enhanced licenses cross-border plan to be tested

OLYMPIA — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will approve Washington state's pilot project for use of enhanced driver's licenses, rather than passports, by Americans crossing the border into British Columbia, but has rejected a plan for guards to use handheld scanners to check regular licenses, officials say.

State officials said Friday the enhanced licenses could provide an alternative to the more expensive passport expected to be required for land and sea travel in June 2009.

The government's decision not to authorize the scanners means the state is out the $100,000 investment it made in the new technology.

At the request of Gov. Christine Gregoire, the Legislature is rushing through authorization of the optional enhanced license, which will incorporate proof of citizenship and Washington residency and allow search of federal databanks, including criminal records.

The licenses will cost $40, must be picked up in person at a driver's-license office and should be available in January. In the meanwhile, until June 2009, regular licenses will suffice at the border crossings.

Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Homeland Security department, will travel here on Friday to sign papers allowing the state to use the enhanced license as the country's first pilot project to test a cheaper, secure alternative to a $97 passport, said state Senate Transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said that Washington state is "at the forefront in putting forward an innovative program for licenses that can be more secure and fulfill the important security requirements we are working on."

The federal government is working closely with Washington on what could be a national model, he said, adding that Michigan has begun work on a similar approach.

Canada will be asked to authorize a similar card for British Columbia, state officials said.

"The goal has been to continue having a driver's license as the border-crossing document, and Homeland Security is agreeing to pilot it and test it out," said Antonio Ginatta, executive policy adviser to Gregoire.

The state had secured some of the scanners from Port Townsend-based Mobalissa. But the federal agency felt that approach would not access all necessary databases, Ginatta said.

After June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require Americans returning by land to the U.S. after short visits to Canada and Mexico to show passports or other high-tech ID cards. Passports are already required for air travelers arriving in the United States from Canada and Mexico, including returning Americans.

Washington state and British Columbia together have 10 million residents, and government leaders are trying to come up with a permanent alternative to the passport for land and ferry crossings.

Commerce and tourism could be hampered by the passport requirement, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said recently in a joint news conference with Gregoire. Campbell's office said one poll showed that one-third of Americans and Canadians who live near the border would be less likely to cross the border if the passport requirement stands.

The Whatcom County economy depends heavily on Canadians, and the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010 will place heavy demands on the borders, said Ken Oplinger, co-chairman of the Business for Economic Security, Trade and Tourism Coalition of the U.S. and Canada.

"It's huge to our economy," he said.