State Senator Michael Balboni (R-East Williston) has been appointed to a federal rulemaking committee that will create national standards for state identification cards and state driver's licenses.

"You can do anything with a driver's license - it's the pre-eminent form of ID, yet there's no single standard on what information's on them, what they look like and what documentation you have to provide to obtain one," said Balboni, who chairs the state Senate's committee that contemplates and issues legislation on homeland security issues.

In its extensive report on the 2001 terrorist attacks, the 9/11 Commission found that hijackers involved in the attacks used state-issued documents to get through security checkpoints. Moreover, they obtained their driver's licenses using false documents.

The 9/11 Commission report also recommended that the federal government set standards for issuing birth certificates and other sources of identification such as driver's licenses. And last December, President George W. Bush signed a law directing the US Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security to form a "negotiated rulemaking committee" to create standards for driver's licenses and personal identification cards.

Balboni will serve on the new committee as a representative of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a bipartisan group of lawmakers that represents the 50 states. He chairs the NCSL's Law and Justice Committee, and is also a 2005 Fellow of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University.

"If we have more consistent identification among the states, it will be easier to root out terrorists and others who use false identification to break the law," Balboni said.

State Senator Michael Balboni (R-East Williston) announced that the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators is offering four scholarships that will be awarded this June to current or future college students.

"College is expensive, and my colleagues and I want to make it easier for students and working families from New York to meet their expenses," said Senator Balboni, vice president of the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators. "I urge students to apply if they are interested in getting help to offset college costs."

Two academic scholarships of $1,500 each and two athletic scholarships of $1,500 each are available, according to Senator Balboni. Scholarship opportunities are available to current or future college students of any heritage who are residents of the state.

Eligibility is based on grade-point average, involvement in organized sports, interest in higher education, community involvement and individual financial need. Area students can request an application by calling Senator Balboni's Garden City Park office at 873-0736. The application deadline is April 15.