New mayor tackles ID long line problem

Some are waiting hours and being turned away because of documentation

By Kenny Choi

Published  7:47 AM HST Jan 09, 2013

Remedios Laforga waited in line for more than two hours Tuesday morning, then got turned away for not having the right documentation for a state identification card.

"Now they need everything.  Citizenship, my bank statements," said Laforga.

Others, like Zach Fletcher, didn't have any better luck waiting in line.

"I'm a military brat, so I have some patience. It's stressful. Could do other things today," said Fletcher.

Last year, the state legislature passed a law requiring all 15 county licensing offices to issue state IDs, instead of the state attorney general's office.

City officials say if you're trying to renew your license or something more simple, check to see if a nearby city satellite hall can process something like that instead of going to a drivers' license office, which will have longer lines.

"The goal was to get it out to more places.  People could go to neighborhoods to get an ID," said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

Even without additional funding from the state, Mayor Caldwell announced the city will add seven temporary employees to help reduce the wait times at its five locations across Oahu.

"I do apologize to those who have gone through the process," said Caldwell.

The city hopes its new hotline 768-CITY (2489) will help answer questions about which documents to bring, so that people don't get turned away after hours of waiting.