Q: Is it true that all Georgia driver licenses must be renewed by the end of 2014, regardless of the expiration date on the current license?
— Robert Abney, Stone Mountain
A: Georgia licenses and ID cards have been ruled Real ID compliant by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are valid until their current expiration date, except for people born on or after Dec. 1, 1964, Susan Sports, spokeswoman for the Department of Driver Services (DDS), told Q&A on the News in an email. Those who were born on or after that date will need to renew their license or ID cards by Dec. 1, 2017, which was determined by the DHS. "DHS expects to publish a schedule by early fall 2013 and begin implementation at a suitable date thereafter," according to a news release. DDS has been "proactively" issuing Real IDs, in compliance with the Real ID Act of 2005, "to anyone renewing or obtaining their first Georgia license" since July 1, 2012. Georgia was commended by the DHS as being one of 13 states to be Real ID compliant as of December 2012.
Q: During inaugural coverage, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife was referred to as Dr. Jill Biden. What kind of doctor is she?
— David George, Atlanta
A: Jill Biden earned a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware in 2007, according to her bio on www.WhiteHouse.gov. Her dissertation was on maximizing student retention in community colleges. The second lady also has master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University and is an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
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