A federal law requiring state driver's license holders to be linked to a national database will likely cost North Dakota millions of dollars to implement.

Coming up with the money to kick-start the program is one of the main concerns of officials nationwide.

Keith Magnusson, deputy director for driver and vehicle services, said a new computer system could cost $5 million, but it is too early to know the exact details. Magnusson said a new computer system would be needed for the program.

"Until we see the rules we don't know what it will entail," Magnusson said.

The REAL ID Act was passed by the House and Senate in May as part of an $82 billion spending bill that included money for the war in Iraq and tsunami relief aid.

Magnusson said the act requires the Department of Homeland Security to design a driver's license system where each state can be linked to a national database.

States will have until 2008 to implement the new law.

Magnusson said if the state has to cover some of the costs, increasing fees to obtain a license could be considered.

The law also requires states to verify that applicants are United States citizens or legal residents.

Magnusson said North Dakota already does a good job of preventing identification fraud because DOT employees have the time to pay attention to each individual applicant.

"We've got good people," Magnusson said. "They handle lots of things."

In order to get a license in North Dakota, a person has to be in the country legally and has to provide the DOT with a birth certificate and another form of identification. Unlike in some states, illegal aliens cannot receive a driver's license in North Dakota.

There also are privacy concerns of what the Department of Homeland Security says has to be included in the licenses.

Some fear the card will turn into a national identification system that will include radio frequency chips.

Magnusson said licenses eventually will be required for a number of activities, including boarding a plane, and if states do not comply with the act, their licenses won't be accepted.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said officials will have to be careful not to infringe on people's rights when coming up with an identification system.

"We just have to walk very careful in these areas because we have a Constitution and basic freedoms," Dorgan said.

Dorgan and Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., both voted for $82 billion bill which contained the Real ID Act, but the act was not voted on separately.

Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., voted against the proposal once when it was in the House, but he later voted for the final version of the spending bill that included the Real ID Act.

Pomeroy made statements on the House floor opposing the legislation. He said the bill does not go far enough in improving the immigration system in ways that will enhance our national security and that the Department of Homeland Security is already collaborating with states to devise sensible standards that work.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@bismarcktribune.com.)