OFF THE WIRE
By Grant Welker
Herald News Staff Reporter
http://www.heraldnews.com/newsnow/x2019334618/Special-drivers-license-star-makes-veterans-easier-to-ID Special driver's license star makes veterans easier to ID.
.From left, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, state Sen. Michael Rodrigues and state Registrar of Motor Vehicles Rachel Kaprielian announce the new veterans designation available on state driver’s licenses.
Massachusetts veterans now have an easier way to identify themselves as eligible for services and benefits thanks to a new feature on driver’s licenses.
Effective next month, veterans can bring their DD214 forms, which identify them as having served in the military, to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to have a special note on their licenses, state officials announced Friday at the Fall River RMV.
At the bottom right corner of the licenses next to where organ donors are noted with a red heart, will be “veteran” written in blue capital letters and a small star.
The new license feature will make it easier for veterans to identify themselves for services and benefits “which they so richly deserve,” said Rachel Kaprielian, the state registrar of the Registry of Motor Vehicles Division. Emergency responders will also be able to better serve veterans if they know there’s a chance for post-traumatic stress disorder or other afflictions, said Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, who also spoke at a brief press conference at the RMV.
Veterans will initially need to go to the RMV in person to get the veterans designation added to their licenses, Kaprielian said, but would be able to renew their licenses online.
Fall River Veterans Agent Raymond Hague, whose office in Government Center provides services to roughly 500 veterans and their dependents, said he receives a lot of requests for photo identification forms for help receiving services. Hague said he thinks many will participate in the new license program.
The announcement of the new program was held in the district of state Sen. Michael Rodrigues, who filed legislation calling for the new veterans designation. The program ultimately did not require legislative approval, but Rodrigues said it was important to provide an easier way for veterans to be identified for services and benefits.
Georgia, North Dakota and Utah are the only other states to offer veterans designations on driver’s licenses, Kaprielian said. According to Murray, there are 400,000 veterans in Massachusetts, including 37,000 who have served since 9/11.
