Changes proposed for Pennsylvania driver's licenses, plates

by: George Stockburger

Posted: Aug 31, 2023 / 01:47 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 31, 2023 / 01:47 PM EDT

(WHTM) – A Pennsylvania lawmaker is renewing a push to create digital driver’s licenses, identifications, and license plates.

State Senator Marty Flynn (D-Lackawanna/Luzerne) says he plans to introduce a package of legislation labeled “Driving PA Forward” that “collects some of the lowest hanging fruits and ones that are most likely to result in positive and direct change to our constituents.”

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Among the eight bills Flynn proposes in this package is one to direct the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to develop and make available digital driver’s licenses and identifications.

A second bill directs the department to develop digital license plates.

Other legislation in the package includes allowing car sales on Sundays, updating the driver education law, and modernizing the antique and classic car registration process.

“No longer are digital driver’s licenses and digital license plates something out of a futuristic dream,” said Flynn. “Solutions to problems in the 1950s and 1960s are different than solutions to issues that we face today and tomorrow. The reality is that the future is here, and the time and need to modernize is now.”

Flynn’s proposed legislation comes months after Rep. Dan Miller (D-Alleghany County) introduced a bill to create digital driver’s licenses and identification cards. The bill was referred to the State Transportation Committee on May 24 but did not receive a vote.

In March 2022 Arizona became the first state to offer driver’s licenses and state IDs in the Apple Wallet app. Other states that partnered with Apple to bring the feature include Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Georgia, Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio, and Utah.

Currently, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland have IDs supported by Apple Wallet. Airports that accept ID cards in Apple Wallet include Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Denver International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

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There was also a push in Pennsylvania last year to update the license plate law after the State Supreme Court ruled that frames can not obscure any part of the plate.

Last year PennDOT unveiled updated design and security features to driver’s licenses including new customized security patterning, an ultraviolet image, and a gold metallic tint that is visible under direct lighting.

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Changes proposed for Pennsylvania driver's licenses, plates