BANGOR, Maine — The Maine secretary of state’s office filed paperwork on Wednesday to renew a $1.8 million contract with a Massachusetts-based company to produce state-issued driver’s licenses and identification.
The secretary of state’s office is seeking to renew its contract with Morpho Trust USA at the existing cost to produce driver’s licenses and other identification for Maine residents, according to a document filed Wednesday.
The contract renewal comes at a time when the state is grappling with its continued noncompliance with a decade-old federal law regulating state-issued identification, a matter that likely will be at the top of the Legislature’s agenda next year.
Kristen Muszynski, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office, said Wednesday afternoon that the contract being renewed contains provisions that would allow the state to meet unmet requirements of the Real ID Act, so “the Legislature could make that decision at any time, and we’d be ready to go.”
Even with those provisions included in the contract, the secretary of state’s office still would have to renegotiate with Morpho Trust for any additional costs to account for new compliance measures, Muszynski said.
It was unclear Wednesday how Real ID compliance might affect the cost of the contract.
The Legislature in 2007 passed a law that prohibited the state from complying with Real ID amid concerns it would create a de facto “ internal passport.” Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied the state’s request for additional time to comply with provisions of Real ID because it had “not provided adequate justification for continued noncompliance.”
Maine has met several requirements of the federal law. It has tightened security where licenses are made, and licenses are valid for only eight years. Undocumented immigrants can no longer get Maine licenses.
But the state has failed to meet some of the act’s more controversial requirements, such as using facial recognition software at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices and fingerprinting Bureau of Motor Vehicles employees. In addition, the state hasn’t started to use Homeland Security-approved security markings on ID cards.
Maine is among 27 states and five territories not in compliance with the law, and it has a grace period until Jan. 29, 2017, before federal agencies stop accepting Maine-issued identification for entry into certain federal facilities — including military bases, nuclear power plants and the U.S. mint, among others.
The consequences of not complying with Real ID increase as Homeland Security continues to roll out the final phase of implementation. In January 2018, travelers who want to board domestic flights will need identification compliant with Real ID or an accepted alternative, such as a U.S. passport or passport card.
Morpho Trust has produced driver’s licenses and other identification for the state since mid-2012, after its parent company Safran acquired L-1 Identity Solutions, which previously did the work for the state.
The state’s current contract with Morpho Trust is in effect through June 30, 2017, but the state has the option for two two-year extensions, for a total of up to four years to continue the present contract.
In the document filed Wednesday, the secretary of state’s office determined that the state could procure the production of driver’s licenses and other identification from only one source, Morpho Trust.
If it’s renewed, the contract with Morpho Trust would extend from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019, according to the document.
Any vendor or other interested party who would like to comment on the renewal must file paperwork with the Division of Purchases, a unit of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, no later than Nov. 29.
Clarification: A previous version of this report should have noted that the Maine secretary of state’s office was not waiving the competitive bidding process but using an option within its contract with Morpho Trust USA to renew it for an additional two years.