More good news - Maine driver's licenses
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Posted by Mike Scott on April 19, 2008 at 12:34:51
Augusta (AP) April 18 -- Acknowledging that it was a tough issue for lawmakers, Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a bill to tighten standards for getting a Maine driver' license, a measure that was dreaded as an affront to civil liberties and defended only as a stopgap.Baldacci wasted little time before signing the bill after the Senate approved it by a 19-15 vote Thursday night.
With the bill's enactment, Maine joins 44 other states, including the rest of New England, in making legal presence a requirement for getting a driver's license, the governor said. It also helps ensure Mainers won't be put through extra security screening when they board airplanes or go to federal buildings.
'This was a difficult issue for many people in the Legislature,' Baldacci said in a statement. 'But we have done the right thing. The laws regarding Maine's driver's licenses have been too lax. The Legislature has put the best interest of our people first.'
The measure requires Maine licenses to expire when a holder's legal duration of stay in the U.S. ends, that photos of applicants be taken at the start of the licensing process, that the state find ways to avoid duplication of licenses and that motor vehicles officials check with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program to determine whether an applicant is residing in the U.S. legally.