ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Maryland House of Delegates advanced a measure that would allow people with an unlawful immigration status to continue to obtain driver's licenses.
If passed, the bill would make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system, striking down the state's 2015 deadline for people in the country illegally to get rid of their Maryland driver's licenses.
The Senate has already approved the measure.
Lawmakers on Thursday rejected several amendments to the bill including one that would create a fingerprinting provision to go with the special license.
Supporters of the measure say that when immigrants who are living in the country illegally have access to driver's licenses, it enables them to purchase car insurance and makes the state's highways safer.
Opponents argue the licenses reward illegal behavior.
