Oregon lawmakers voted in 2009 not to comply with the federal REAL ID Act. Now, there’s just over a year until noncompliance becomes a real problem for travelers, who would be barred from airplanes if they lacked acceptable identification.

The state would be better served if lawmakers adopted the changes required by REAL ID and allowed the state to charge more for driver licenses to pay for those changes. That’s what Sen Bill Hansell, R-Athena, hopes to do with Senate Bill 374, sort of.

REAL ID was adopted by Congress in 2005 in response to the 9/11 attacks of 2001. It sets higher security standards for such things as state driver licenses and identity cards and prohibits federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Agency, from accepting identification that does not meet those standards. Oregon lawmakers complained the law is an unfunded mandate and ordered the state not to comply.

The state has received waivers over the years that allow Oregonians to travel without the expense of obtaining a passport. But what’s being described as the final waiver expires in June 2018.

Hansell’s bill aims to offer the best of both federal and Oregon law. Oregonians would be able to pay extra to get a license that complies with REAL ID. The optional REAL ID-compliant driver licenses likely would cost an additional $20, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, bringing the cost of a first driver license to $80. Everyone else would have noncompliant cards at the same old price.

But it would be better just to charge everyone the extra necessary to bring state licenses into compliance. The higher standards for REAL ID are an improvement. And without all licenses being in compliance, some Oregonians are going to be caught unaware and may not be able to fly, or visit federal buildings, including Congress and the White House, without other acceptable identification.