Florida to require 2 IDs to enter state ports

Published 5 June 2006

Florida is tired of waiting for TWIC to get going, so it has initiated its own port employee security program in the state’s 14 ports; but now it appears that employees will have to equip themselves with two pieces of ID, costing them nearly $250

Thousands of truck drivers, longshoremen, and other workers in Florida will need separate state and federal security passes to enter Florida ports under proposed rules for the new federal identification card. Florida will start issuing cards this month that provide access to all fourteen state ports for people who pass screenings for criminal records and a terrorist watch list. Because standards for the cards are different, however, port workers or employers will need to pay up to $239 for both, state and maritime officials warned at a hearing on the proposed federal rules Thursday. “This is an unacceptable alternative for Florida shipping and cruise industries… and will have a negative effect on moving commerce in our state,” said Bill Janes, director of the state’s drug control office.

More than 200 people attended the hearing at which the U.S. Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration listened to comments on plans for the card, called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The TSA expects to start collecting fingerprints and personal information to screen applicants by year’s end. Within eighteen months, the agency says, about 750,000 workers nationwide will receive the card they will need to enter secure areas of ports and to board ships. Most will pay $139 for a card that is valid for five years.

Florida got a jump on securing its ports, thanks to a law passed in 2000 that was designed to protect against drug smuggling. The law required agencies running public ports to put up gates and fences to control access to docks and other sensitive areas.