AUGUSTA — A bill that will require all applicants to produce papers showing they are in this country legally in order to get a Maine driver’s license is ready to be signed into law after it passed the Senate Thursday in a 19-15 vote.

The vote in the House earlier in the day was 79-58. After hours of passionate debate that spanned over several days, the case was made the state could not ignore the demands of the federal Department of Homeland Security without putting its citizens at a great disadvantage.

“If we don’t pass this legislation, come Dec. 15, people in Maine, 1.3 million people, will not be able to use their driver’s license to get on an airplane,” said Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Cumberland County).

“You can fight stupid or you can fight smart,” Diamond said. “This bill buys time.”

It will require people to show a birth certificate, passport, visa or some other form of identification when applying for a Maine driver’s license in order to comply with the federal REAL ID Act. It also requires the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to check an applicant’s immigrant status in a federal database, although that provision has been pushed off for more than a year.

The federal government earlier this month said that if Maine didn’t comply, residents would not be allowed to use their Maine driver’s licenses to board planes and enter federal buildings. Governor John Baldacci responded by putting in legislation to tighten license requirements.

Maine is the last state to comply with provisions of the REAL ID law, which has been amended to require states to make sure their licenses are not easily obtained by illegal aliens. Many states asked for and received an extension on the timeline to comply, but Maine waited until the very last minute and was told by the federal government to adopt stricter licensing criteria by Dec. 15.

Sen. Phil Bartlett (D-Cumberland County) argued the state still had time to do the right thing and put off action until December, when the next Legislature will be seated, instead of rushing it through at the end of session.

“I believe it is important we do it right and do this at the minimum cost to the state,” Bartlett said.

Sen. Lynn Bromley (D-Cumberland County) quoted her father in explaining her vote against the bill.

“I don’t ever want to live in a country where I have to have papers,” she recalled him saying.

Sen. Kevin Raye (R-Washington County) argued that Maine had an obligation to comply with the law, even though the Legislature last year voted overwhelmingly to oppose it.

“We are part of these United States of America,” he said. “We may not agree with every law passed in this county, but we are a nation of laws.”

Sen. Peter Bowman (D-York County), the former commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard who served 30 years in the Navy, voted against the bill, but suggested a two-pronged approach to compliance based on his background in the service.

“You comply with the law and you fight like hell to turn it around,” he said.