2021 Alaska Statutes
Title 28. Motor Vehicles
Chapter 15. Drivers' Licenses
Article 1. Issuance, Expiration, and Renewal of Licenses.
Sec. 28.15.041. Classification of drivers' licenses.
(a) The commissioner shall provide by regulation for the classification of drivers' licenses. The regulations must specify license classifications that are reasonably necessary for the safe operation of the various types, sizes, and combinations of motor vehicles. The regulations must also establish medical standards, standards of driving conduct and proficiency, and other standards governing the issuance, renewal, or denial of these licenses. The department may examine each applicant to determine the applicant's qualifications according to the class of license applied for, and upon issuing a driver's license the department shall indicate on the license the classification for which an applicant for a license has qualified by examination. The regulations and any subsequent modifications under this section become effective only if approved by a concurrent resolution adopted by a majority vote of each house of the legislature.
(b) [Repealed, § 5 ch 53 SLA 1990.]
(c) [Repealed, § 5 ch 53 SLA 1990.]
(d) The commissioner shall adopt regulations for the issuance of drivers' licenses that are federally compliant. For drivers' licenses that are federally compliant, the department
(1) shall copy, scan, or retain only the minimum number of documents required by P.L. 109-13, Division B (REAL ID Act of 2005), or other applicable state or federal law, for issuance of a driver's license that is federally compliant;
(2) shall destroy, regularly and as close as practicable to 15 years after the date of application unless otherwise required by another applicable state or federal law, any documents retained under (1) of this subsection; and
(3) may not copy, scan, or retain in any form a document that is not required to be retained under (1) of this subsection.
(e) The department shall continue to issue drivers' licenses that are not federally compliant. Nothing in this section or regulations adopted under this section requires a driver to be issued a driver's license that is federally compliant. An applicant must clearly request a driver's license that is federally compliant to obtain one. The state or a municipal government may not require a person to possess or use a driver's license that is federally compliant unless the person is a state or municipal employee and the duties of the person's job require the use of a driver's license that is federally compliant. The state or a municipal government shall otherwise treat a driver's license that is not federally compliant the same as a driver's license that is federally compliant. For a driver's license that is not federally compliant, the department
(1) shall retain an image of the face on the license for not more than 15 years after the date of application; if an applicant does not receive a driver's license, the department may not retain an image of the applicant's face;
(2) shall scan and retain only the minimum documents necessary for issuance of the driver's license; the department shall destroy any documents retained one year after the driver's license expires.
(f) The department shall provide public information about the differences between drivers' licenses and drivers' licenses that are federally compliant. The department shall also provide the information to applicants for new and renewal drivers' licenses at the time of application. At a minimum, the information must include a description of
(1) each type of driver's license;
(2) the storage and sharing process for an applicant's information for a driver's license and a driver's license that is federally compliant; and
(3) the official purpose and limitations on the use of each type of driver's license, including a description of the purposes for which a driver's license that is federally compliant may be required and a description of alternatives to using a driver's license that is federally compliant to serve those purposes.
