The Senate didn't join a mounting protest yesterday against federal rules for driver's licenses, but New Hampshire will still have a couple of chances to buck the national system.

At issue is a bill barring New Hampshire from participating in Real ID, which mandates states to comply with strict identification standards by 2008 and to share residents' information with other states. Earlier this year, the House decried the program, but yesterday, the Senate chose not to follow, voting instead to create a commission to study the state's involvement.

The debate is far from over: The two chambers will still have to work out their differences in a special committee in coming weeks. And this morning, the Legislature's fiscal committee meets to decide whether to accept the $3 million the federal government has offered New Hampshire in exchange for testing the system.

"Those of you who know me know I usually make up my mind pretty firm, but this one has been a real hard one for me," said Jack Barnes, a Raymond Republican who sponsored the study commission.

Barnes, like many senators who spoke yesterday, dislikes that the Real ID proposal was tucked into another federal bill guaranteed to pass and so never received a full-fledged congressional debate. But he believes stricter identification standards are necessary for national security.

"We are at war," he said. "I'm very happy that our government is doing this. I'll give some of my rights up: I don't mind going to the airport and taking my shoes off so some bum isn't coming along and blowing up the airplane I'm riding on."

The 14 senators who favor the commission say it will allow the volatile debate to cool and give state leaders time to analyze a complex set of regulations. But the nine opponents say that by the time commissioners finish their work, it will be too late for New Hampshire - or any other state -to back out of Real ID.

The system, they said, could be the first step toward a national identification system and will cost New Hampshire far more money than the federal government is offering.

"In times of war is when you need to fight hardest for your liberties," said Sen. Peter Burling, a Cornish Democrat. "(The commission) takes us into the trap of Real ID. We need to be true to our motto, true to our citizens, true to ourselves. We need to understand that this Real ID proposal is a bad idea on every level. . . . Poor little New Hampshire - for $3 million - is going to get a crack at trying to deal with the biggest unfunded mandate since No Child Left Behind."

Real ID requires all states to comply with federal regulations for issuing drivers licenses by May 2008. The Department of Homeland Security has yet to craft definitive guidelines, but it's widely believed that states will have to verify birth certificates, passports, Social Security numbers and the immigration status of applicants. Opponents say the information will be recorded in a national database and that licenses will include electronic chips containing personal information.

If a state doesn't comply, its licenses won't be suitable for admittance to federal buildings, commercial aircraft and nuclear power plants. The bill before the Senate yesterday called Real ID "repugnant" and would bar the state Division of Motor Vehicles from complying with the federal standards.

Men and women, many wearing anti-Real ID buttons, packed the observation gallery yesterday. Most had already spent all day Wednesday in Concord, watching while senators argued over a slew of finance bills, pushing the identification debate to yesterday. They protested outside the legislative parking garage and predicted more activism to come. (next page »)