Latest news with #DepartmentofFinanceandAdministration
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Replacement driver's licenses temporarily processed online as Arkansas officials focus on REAL ID
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways REAL ID Arkansas driver's license (Courtesy of the Department of Finance and Administration) Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration officials announced Wednesday that duplicate driver's licenses can be ordered online and delivered by mail beginning May 12. The temporary online processing of duplicate and replacement licenses and ID cards will allow DFA officials to focus on issuing REAL IDs, according to a press release. New, first-time licenses may still be obtained at any State Revenue Office. Renewals will also continue normally for licenses and IDs within 90 days of expiration, as has been the policy for years, according to the release. As of Wednesday, REAL IDs, which are signified by a gold star on a driver's license or state-issued ID card, are required for Americans boarding domestic flights or entering certain federal buildings. REAL IDs began with a 2005 law passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Instituting REAL IDs statewide 'will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud,' according to the state finance department website. State officials said DFA has issued record numbers of REAL IDs this week, about 10,000 per day, ahead of Wednesday's deadline, according to the press release. More than 132,000 were issued between April 1 and early May. This week, DFA will focus on ensuring those with immediate travel plans have access to a REAL ID, according to the release. The state agency will continue issuing REAL IDs after Wednesday, and Arkansans may obtain a REAL ID at any of the state's 134 Revenue Offices. More information, including what paperwork is needed to obtain a REAL ID, is available on the state finance department's website. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
REAL ID requirements among policies difficult for transgender, nonbinary Arkansans to navigate
(Courtesy of the Department of Finance and Administration) Gender-nonconforming Arkansans might not meet the state's requirements to obtain a REAL ID in order to board flights or enter certain federal buildings, which is a week away from being required by federal law. Applicants for REAL IDs need to provide the Department of Finance and Administration with four different forms of identification: A current driver's license, state-issued ID, or school or work ID as proof of identity A passport or birth certificate as proof of legal presence in the United States A government-issued social security card Two documents providing proof of address, such as utility bills or bank statements, issued within the last six months The documents 'all have to sync up,' Finance Secretary Jim Hudson said last week. Transgender and nonbinary Arkansans might have changed their names or gender information on some but not all legal documents, and state policies have made it difficult for these groups of people to obtain documents that accurately reflect who they are, advocates say. Birth certificates can be legally altered, and until this year, the federal government allowed gender-neutral information on U.S. passports. 'The government has played politics with people's lives and upended people's ability to accurately and properly identify themselves,' said Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. 'This has created much chaos and turmoil for no good reason while making life harder and more unsafe for all of us.' Last year, the ACLU of Arkansas led a lawsuit against the DFA's decision to stop issuing gender-neutral driver's licenses. The case was dropped after Arkansas officials permanently adopted the new policy, which prohibits the use of an 'X' to indicate someone's gender in place of 'M' or 'F.' Arkansans urge state finance department not to reverse gender-neutral driver's license policy Several transgender and nonbinary Arkansans, including Maggs Gallup of Little Rock, urged the finance department to maintain the previous policy, which had been in place for 14 years. Gallup said in an interview Monday that they are putting off obtaining a REAL ID in case doing so requires the state to remove the X gender marker from their driver's license. Hudson told lawmakers that a driver's license is 'not a platform for speech' and 'not a platform for personal identity.' Gallup disagreed, saying their gender-neutral ID is important to them and putting incorrect information on an ID is 'a deeply incongruent thing to do.' 'In an ideal world, it would be great to have the state and officials recognize our gender,' Gallup said. 'They don't get to determine who we are, no matter what letters we put on our IDs.' REAL IDs began with a law passed by Congress in 2005 as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Instituting REAL IDs statewide 'will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud,' according to the finance department website. The federal Transportation Security Administration accepts passports in place of REAL IDs as identification to board a flight. Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a well-known transgender advocate who lives in Little Rock, said last week on Facebook that she was initially denied access to a flight because she has an X on her driver's license, but she was allowed to board after displaying her passport containing a male gender marker. Griffin-Gracy is 78 years old and gender-nonconforming, and she was present at the 1969 Stonewall riot between LGBTQ+ people and police in New York City. In her Facebook video, she expressed disbelief that her passport was accepted even though she did not appear masculine. She also said 'we the people' should 'stand up and fight' President Donald Trump's administration, which does not recognize gender-neutral IDs. Gallup said they are also concerned about potential limits on travel, both domestic and international, with or without a REAL ID. Their teenage child is old enough to learn to drive but is putting off obtaining a learner's permit because of potential bureaucratic obstacles due to their gender-nonconforming identity, Gallup said. Bill regulating transgender Arkansans' bathroom use heads to House despite public pushback 'This is just one part of a larger, really complicated network of new rules and legislation that are challenging to navigate' for transgender and nonbinary Arkansans, Gallup said. State lawmakers and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved a law this month that will allow Arkansans to sue for damages if they encounter someone in a bathroom, changing room, shelter or correctional facility who does not align with the 'designated sex' of the space. The state has also enacted laws in the past few years that ban transgender girls from playing girls' sports, require public school students to use bathrooms that match their gender assigned at birth, regulate pronoun use in schools and allow doctors who provide transgender minors' health care to be sued for medical malpractice. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State health department extends hours to help Arkansans meet REAL ID deadline
(Courtesy of the Department of Finance and Administration) The Arkansas Health Department is extending hours of operation Saturday at local health units in response to increased demand for birth certificates, an important document for obtaining a REAL ID. Beginning May 7, REAL IDs will be required for all Americans to board domestic flights or enter certain federal buildings. According to a press release, the following ADH locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to issue certified birth certificates: ADH Main Office, Vital Records — 4815 W. Markham, Little Rock Pulaski Central Local Health Unit — 3915 W. 8th Street, Little Rock Washington County Local Health Unit — 3270 Wimberly Drive, Fayetteville Craighead County Local Health Unit — 611 E. Washington Avenue, Jonesboro Miller County Local Health Unit — 503 Walnut, Texarkana Drew County Local Health Unit — 940 Scogin Drive, Monticello Arkansans must bring a valid driver's license and pay a $12 fee to obtain a birth certificate. More information about obtaining birth certificates is available on the health department's website. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration officials earlier this week announced driver's license offices in five cities would also have extended hours Saturday to assist Arkansans attempting to acquire their REAL IDs ahead of next month's deadline. Offices in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Texarkana and Monticello will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Appointments are recommended but not required, and can be scheduled on the finance department's website. REAL IDs began with a 2005 law passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Instituting REAL IDs statewide 'will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud,' according to the finance department website. REAL IDs are signified by a gold star on a driver's license or state-issued ID card. The state finance department has issued roughly 140,000 REAL IDs since Jan. 1, including 52,000 in March, bringing the statewide total to roughly 800,000, DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said in a Tuesday press conference. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs New Mexico flood recovery, ambulance purchasing bills into law
A truck carried away in the aftermath of historic flooding in Roswell New Mexico. More than 300 people required rescues in the deadly October flooding. (Courtesy of Zachary Lujan) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed two bills into law that will give local governments more ways to access money to aid in disaster recovery and emergency response. One will allow the use of property tax bonds to fix infrastructure damaged by floodwaters, and the other will change a funding mechanism to help cities and towns purchase ambulances. Lujan Grisham signed them both Friday. 'These bills provide critical tools for our municipalities to recover from devastating floods and strengthen our emergency medical services across the state,' the Democratic governor Lujan Grisham said in a written statement Monday. The first law, Senate Bill 383, expands the use of revenue bonds to include 'rebuilding, repairing, replacing, and hardening of municipal property damaged by a flood,' and allows local governments including cities and counties to implement a 0.327% gross tax to help pay for the bonds. Previously, the law only allowed municipalities to enact the tax on property sales or services bought within the area. Sen. Candy Spence Ezzell (R-Roswell) the sponsor of SB 383, said she was 'beyond thrilled,' about the signing when reached by phone on Monday. The new law will allow Roswell to raise funds to apply for federal dollars after devastating floods ripped through the community in October, killing two people. 'It will help Roswell get matching funds where they can apply for the FEMA money to help with getting everything back,' Ezzell said. 'The bill also gives other towns and counties the opportunity to do the same thing in case they are faced with some other natural disaster as well.' In order to enact the tax, local governments will have to adopt bonds and send them to the voters for approval. SB383 contains an emergency clause, which enacts the bill into law immediately. Senate Bill 197 allows municipalities to purchase ambulances using bonds and allows the state to move money from the Emergency Medical Services Fund to the Department of Finance and Administration to pledge in repaying the loans, similar to the process to buy fire trucks. Ambulances are often too expensive for small local governments to purchase outright, said New Mexico Municipal League, which lobbies on behalf of cities, in an analysis of the bill. A single ambulance often costs over $200,000. SB197 goes into effect July 1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Bill Lee offers victim-serving agencies $20M in revised budget
Victim-serving agencies in Tennessee have been making public pleas for Gov. Bill Lee to include funding for them in the state budget. (Photo by) Gov. Bill Lee will include $20 million in the state's budget for victim-serving agencies that — for weeks — have issued public pleas for help to keep their doors open in the face of steep cuts to federal grants. Sexual assault centers, domestic violence shelters and child abuse counseling agencies — many serving key roles in working with law enforcement to bring perpetrators to justice — have seen their share of federal Victims of Crime Act funding dwindled from a peak of $68 million in 2018 to $16 million last year. In response to these cuts, 35 other states took action to provide state funding. Tennessee was not one of them, until now. 'Some of the victim services units are struggling to provide the services that are needed, particularly for our law enforcement and for the victims of crime in our state,' Jim Bryson, commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration, said Tuesday in presenting the supplemental budget proposal to lawmakers. The governor's funding — $10 million in grants for each of the next two years — fell short of the request for $25 million in recurring state funding a coalition of state nonprofits say they need to preserve current services. Memphis domestic violence center abruptly closes amid statewide fight for victim funding Advocates, disappointed when the governor's budget initially included no state funding for crime victims, nevertheless called it an important first step but are still seeking a long-term dedicated crime victim funding. 'This funding is an important acknowledgment of the urgent crisis facing Tennessee's victim service providers,' said Stephen Woerner, executive director of Tennessee Children's Advocacy Centers, which provides counseling and other services to children who have suffered abuse. Woerner stressed the need for sufficient and sustained funding long-term. The Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA funding, relies on the fees and fines collected from individuals prosecuted in federal courts. It has seen a drastic drop in collections as prosecutors made a concerted shift to accept more plea deals — a trend that preceded the current Trump Administration. A short-term infusion of COVID-era funding helped bridge the gap, but those funds have now ended. Collectively, Tennessee organizations receiving VOCA grants serve more than 95,000 victims in Tennessee each year, according to the state's Office of Criminal Justice Programs. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
