Dean Reynoldson shows one of the hidden images visible under ultraviolet light. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)
UPDATE - Spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, Jeannine Koranda, says an official from the department misspoke during the news conference. The price increase for the new licenses is $1.61. The cost to print the license will go from $2.69 to $4.30.
The current driver's license fees paid by Kansans will cover the increase, so the cost for a Kansan to get a driver's license will not increase.
The state of Kansas has unveiled a new driver's license. The update includes new holograms and hidden images that can only be seen under an ultraviolet light. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda tells us, the improved security measures are aimed at fighting counterfeiters.
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When you think of a fake ID, you might at first think of kids trying to buy beer. But state officials say it’s also related to other problems.... like human trafficking, or people working in Kansas who aren’t legally allowed to work. Dean Reynoldson is director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which investigates ID fraud. Kansas hasn't had problems in recent years with counterfeit licenses, and Reynoldson says they want to keep it that way.
"The counterfeiters gravitate toward weakling states, those states that have lower-level security features on their cards. So this is an effort to stay ahead of them so that they continue to try to counterfeit other states rather than Kansas."
The improvements will more than double the state's cost for a license, from about $2 to $5, but officials say the current driver's license fees will cover the cost. This is the first update for the Kansas license since 2004.