Bill would tighten driver's license requirements

[Maine-ah]

http://knox.villagesoup.com/Government/story.cfm?storyID=109570


AUGUSTA (Feb 23): Legislators are considering a bill that would require people to prove they live in Maine before being given a driver’s license here, but they are skirting the more contentious issue of whether the state Department of Motor Vehicles should ask applicants to show they are in the country legally.

Republicans see it as an issue that could help them win more legislative seats in the upcoming November election, and Maine’s reputation as an “easy” state in which to get a license made the national news last month when CNN’s Lou Dobbs lambasted Democratic Gov. John Baldacci and Secretary of State Matt Dunlap.

“He said the governor and secretary of state in Maine are idiots. He’s never spoken to me, and I’m not sure he’s ever seen our policies,” Dunlap said, but commentators like Dobbs and those on talk radio are whipping up sentiment around the issue.

Dunlap, who helped draft the law currently before the Transportation Committee that would require proof of state residency for license applicants, said figuring out whether someone is an illegal alien is not in his purview.