Applicants for a Hawai'i driver's license would have to show proof they are in the United States legally, under a bill aimed at helping the state comply with federal identification requirements.

The bill received preliminary approval Wednesday from the state House Transportation Committee.

Hawai'i, like many other areas across the country, is trying to meet the requirements of the federal Real ID Act of 2005. It requires states to implement standardized security features to prevent tampering or counterfeiting, such as using standard materials to print the cards.

The federal government has pushed back the date of compliance to May 11, 2011. The law was passed after seven of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers exploited a loophole that allowed people to obtain driver's licenses and ID cards by submitting sworn statements instead of proof of residency or identity.

"If this passes, it would be almost impossible for someone illegally in the U.S. to obtain a driver's license," said Dennis Kamimura, city licensing administrator.

Kamimura and the city support the bill, as does the state Department of Transportation.

The city is asking for permission to charge a fee to applicants who require verification of legal residency. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security charges $1 for all legal presence inquiries.

Opponents of the measure say the federal Real ID act may never be implemented, making the state law a waste of time.

David McCauley, a Honolulu immigration attorney, said the recently appointed secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, is against the plan and signed a law in July 2008 as governor of Arizona that exempted her state from complying with Real ID.

"This is an unfunded federal mandate," McCauley said. "Who down at the department of motor vehicles is going to be engaging in all of this document verification? I don't think the Legislature has thought through what it is going to cost in terms of personnel."

In March 2007, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann told a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee that the one-time cost to implement the system would be $7.67 million and that expenses during the first five years of the program would be an estimated $25.55 million.

The American Civil Liberties Union objects to the state House bill, saying it will force city workers to discriminate against applicants.

"These county employees would have to decide whether someone is a citizen or foreigner before issuing a driver's license — forcing them to distinguish among citizens, permanent resident immigrants, often by making difficult and subtle judgments about complex immigration issues," said Daniel Gluck, senior staff attorney for ACLU Hawaii.

Hawai'i already requires a birth certificate and Social Security number to obtain a new or renewed license, but officials have a link to a nationwide computer system that allows verification of a Social Security card quickly.

No such system exists to check birth certificates, and the state-to-state system for verifying Social Security cards and other information also has yet to be built.

Hawai'i is one of six states that does not ask applicants to prove their legal right to be in the United States. Washington, Maryland, Utah, New Mexico and Illinois also do not require proof of legal presence.