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Mobile Michigan ID bills moving through Senate committee process

A star logo in the top right corner denotes a REAL ID. The state has another design that puts the star in a silhouette of Michigan.
Michigan Secretary of State
A star logo in the top right corner denotes a REAL ID. The state has another design that puts the star in a silhouette of Michigan.

Michigan Senate lawmakers heard committee testimony on bills to allow digital IDs Tuesday.

Democratic state Senator Erika Geiss sponsors the package. She says having a digital ID would let you prove your age and identity without giving up other private information. Whereas currently…
 

“You show your ID to the bartender, the bouncer, now they know where you live.”

 
The bills would require you to still show a physical ID during traffic stops. But Michigan Sheriffs Association executive director Matthew Saxton says he’s concerned about the liability risk of taking someone’s phone.
 

“Whether it's investigating a crime, or what have you, or a witness or a victim or we still use Driver's license, IDs, to ID people to make sure they are who they say they are.”

Similar bills passed the state Senate last term but didn’t move in the state House of Representatives.

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Colin Jackson is the Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network.
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