The Legislature's Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing this afternoon on a bill filed by Gov. John Baldacci to tighten the state's procedures for issuing driver's licenses.

The governor introduced the bill after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security demanded that the state change its procedures, in part by requiring that Maine verify the legal status of immigrants before granting licenses to them.

Baldacci's pledge to file such legislation ended a faceoff that threatened to inconvenience Mainers if it had ended differently.

The federal government had indicated that it would no longer accept a Maine driver's license as a valid ID to board commercial planes or enter federal buildings, but the Department of Homeland Security lifted that threat after Baldacci agreed to ask the Legislature to tighten the licensing rules.

A separate bill already endorsed by most members of the Transportation Committee would require that license applicants prove that they live in Maine to qualify for a driver's license.

Last week, the state became the last state in the country to receive an extension from the federal government for complying with the federal Real ID Act, which is designed to make driver's licenses across the country more secure.