For such an easy decision, debate about requiring residency for Maine driver’s licenses has grown difficult.

A bill before the Legislature would require solid proof of Maine residency prior to the issuing of a driver’s license. Maine is one of a handful of states without this sensible requisite, and its proven exploitation by unsavory types has now made it crucial.

Two prosecutions have occurred stemming from this loophole for the transport of undocumented residents into Maine to receive licenses. Closing this loophole is the easiest form of lawmaking – the identification and resolution of a serious problem. And if the agency charged with implementing this requirement calls it an “absolute necessity,” by all means, get it done.

Dressing residency in the ill-fitting garb of immigration policy, though, only complicates matters needlessly.

While residency is poised to become a requirement for receiving a driver’s license, proof of citizenship or legal status is not. Therefore, a Maine license is not a statement of citizenship or legal status, and cannot be used as evidence of that status.

Fears that easily procured driver’s licenses are an entrée to receiving public benefits, most of which requires citizenship or legal status for eligibility anyway, are just plain wrong. It supercharges an otherwise straightforward policy discussion – what criteria are necessary to receive a driver’s license?

Residency is a simple one. Unless the state wants to strike addresses from licenses entirely, prospective licensees must prove they reside in Maine. Critics say this might be difficult for some, but it’s still a minor threshold to cross to receive a state identification card.

Driving prowess is another easy criterion. This is why licenses are needed, first and foremost. Nobody, regardless of residency, citizenship or legal status, should get a license if they cannot drive safely and smartly.

Then there’s citizenship or legal status.

Some 40 states do require this status for licensing, and there’s a nativist drumbeat in Maine for the same. It is an idea worth studying for later legislative action, but away from the heat of immigration debate.

It cannot be addressed as state licensing policy when it’s viewed as an immigration enforcement policy.

It’s the wise reason for Gov. John Baldacci’s 2004 executive order prohibiting state workers from inquiring about immigration status except when relevant. The federal government has clear and final authority over the issue.

What it does or doesn’t do with this authority is its problem.

The criteria for getting a driver’s license is Maine’s problem.