Maine's madcap licensing policy comes to an end

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Maine's madcap licensing policy comes to an end.

By Rep. Kathy Chase, York County Coast Star, May 08, 2008

One of the landmark achievements of the last legislative session was the enactment of LD 2309 — "An Act to Enhance the Security of State Credentials."

At long last, after years of carelessness, we have tightened the requirements to get a Maine driver's license. You will now have to show proof of residency in Maine and proof of legal status in the United States to qualify for a license.

A driver's license is more than a plastic card that says you know how to drive. A license has become essentially a national ID card, good for everything from cashing checks and buying firearms to boarding airline flights. It bestows legitimacy.

A state-issued driver's license is so valuable, in fact, that it has been called "the key to the kingdom."

One of the untold stories about this bill is that it very nearly failed. On April 16, in the first roll call vote in the House, 72 Democrats voted to kill the bill outright. Those voting to defeat it included the Speaker of the House, Glenn Cummings, and the leader of the House Democrats, Hannah Pingree.

All Republicans voted to keep the bill alive, of course. They were joined by two Independents and 16 Democrats to muster the 73 votes needed to prevail. The final 73-72 vote was so shocking to Democrats that an audible gasp could be heard in the House chamber when the tally was announced.

Republicans remained united for license security as the vast majority of Democrats battled us every step of the way. They held one roll call vote after another, hoping to see the bill go down if one of the proponents was not in his or her seat at the time of the vote. It was that close.

This victory for common sense was a longtime coming. For years, Republicans have offered bills to strengthen Maine's lax and lenient licensing procedures. Maine was one of only four or five states that freely issued licenses to illegal aliens. We know that the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 had more than 60 valid licenses between them, from a combination of states. Nine of these were actually registered to vote, thanks to the Motor Voter Act. Driver's licenses enabled them to board their flights on that fateful day.

In the wake of that horrendous terrorist attack, almost all states that were issuing licenses to illegal aliens stopped the practice. But not Maine, where the liberal majority party rules supreme. The Maine Civil Liberties Union actually favors giving Maine licenses to people who don't even live in this state. They say it's a matter of "human rights."

Our reckless policy was reinforced in 2004, when Gov. John Baldacci quietly signed an executive order making Maine the nation's only "sanctuary state" for illegal aliens, a place where they could obtain licenses and also receive welfare benefits.

Word spread quickly through the illegal alien grapevine that Maine was the place to go for a license. With reciprocity agreements between states, a foreigner with a Maine license can exchange it for a license from their "home" state. At the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, staffers were not allowed to challenge people when they told obvious lies about where they lived.
Licenses were issued to foreigners claiming that their Maine residence was aboard the Scotia Prince cruise ship. Others said they lived at the State House or at seasonal campgrounds.

Nor did it matter that these same people lacked Social Security numbers. All they needed was a form from the Social Security Administration stating that they were not entitled to an SSN. From 1976 to 1997, a total of 46 licenses were issued to such people, usually foreign exchange students. But as the governor's "sanctuary state" policy kicked in, the number soared, reaching 1,112 in 2006 and 1,329 last year.

One illegal alien had 10 different Maine licenses from 10 different BMV offices, complete with fake names. What's more, many of the Social Security forms submitted to the BMV turned out to be forgeries.

Maine's approach to handing out licenses would still be rolling merrily along without two things happening.

First, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, Paula Silsby, began prosecuting individuals for running vanloads of illegals into Maine to get licenses — a felony under federal law.
State officials could no longer pretend their policy was harmless.

Next, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began to notice that Maine had become a kind of rogue state. In communications with Gov. Baldacci, DHS officials said Maine licenses had been so deeply compromised that the federal government would no longer recognize them.

That meant that Mainers could not board flights using Maine licenses as their ID starting in mid-May. Envisioning turmoil and outrage at Maine airports as tourist season began, the governor had no choice but to submit to DHS directives. The only way to avoid the penalty, DHS officials said, was to tighten Maine law substantially to make sure that licenses were given only to people in the country legally.

The governor's team scrambled and presented their bill to the Legislature during its waning hours. It passed the House and Senate on April 17 and was signed into law the same day.
Getting a Maine driver's license is not a right. It is an earned and qualified privilege. One can earn it by passing a driving test and qualify for it by residing in Maine — and the United States — legally.

That is the way it should be, and now, finally, that's the way it is. It should have happened long ago.

State Rep. Kathy Chase (R-Wells) serves on the Legislature's Taxation Committee.