Florida moves on its own to set port access ID system

The federal identification cards mandated for all port personnel after the 9/11 attacks have been delayed several times, so the state of Florida has decided to push ahead with its own version of the program in an effort to make the state’s twelve major ports more secure. The advantage is that the screening of personnel in Florida ports will be tighter; the disadvantage: When and if a federal program does come together, workers around Florida may have to pay or go through the process twice.

Two months ago Florida officials contacted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to say that they had an alternative solution to the stalled federal solution. The state planned to work with GE Security Systems in an attempt to move forward issuing a biometric credential modeled on the federal ID card. Requirements for a state card at Florida seaports have been in place since 2002.

“We had developed requirements predicated on the TSA biometric data model and asked if TSA would be willing to print the cards or grandfather our cards into their recently announced new endeavor to move forward,” said James Kneeland, director for the ID card implementation at the Department of Highway Safety. “We also stressed to TSA that as soon as they finalized their new course of action, Florida would be more than willing to re-engage.”

The Department of Highway Safety is finalizing a plan for a Florida Uniform Port Access Credential to meet the Florida law. It’s also trying to convince TSA to grandfather its process so Florida port workers do not have to pay for two cards that have matching requirements.