Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed a bill Monday that requires the state to electronically verify that foreign nationals have a legal presence in the United States before they can get Montana driver’s licenses or state identification cards.

HB178 was sponsored by state Rep. David Howard, R-Park City.

It requires a legal presence in the United States and does not allow Montaa to accept a driver’s license from another state as proof of that legal presence.

The law will require the applicant to pay a $2 fee for checking the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, which is similar to but different than the federal E-verify employment verification program.

SAVE is a government initiative designed to help agencies determine an applicant’s immigration status and ensure that only entitled applicants receive public benefits and licenses.

Howard said state employees currently look at foreign nationals’ paper documents with the naked eye or perhaps a magnifying glass. He said identification documents are being fraudulently produced by the thousands in the Southwest. “Some are extremely good,” he said.

Howard described the bill as a deterrent. There are an estimated 5,000 illegal immigrants in Montana, he said, which possibly represents 5,000 jobs.

Howard, a retired FBI agent, said he’s not surprised Schweitzer signed the bill. “I honestly think the governor wants to do the right thing for our state,” he said.

State Rep. Steve Lavin, R-Kalispell, was one of the bill’s co-sponsors.

“This is a great bill,” he said Tuesday. “It really decreases the chances for a terrorist getting a state-issued ID. I’m really proud the bill passed. It makes the state and country safer.”

He noted that a number of the terrorists responsible for Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had driver’s licenses or state IDs.

Lavin also said he’s not surprised Schweitzer signed the bill, which received overwhelming Republican support. Only five Democrats — two senators and three representatives — voted for the bill. It cleared the Senate by a vote of 30-19 and the House 68-31.

“I don’t see him vetoing a bill that’s going to make our country a safer place,” Lavin said. “There are no negatives to it.”

“The context of the bill got off track when they said it was going to be harder for legal immigrants” to get a state ID, he added.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.