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WEINER ADDS TO SPITZER’S ‘IDENTITY’ CRISIS ON LICENSES

ALBANY – Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Queens Democrat eyeing a run for mayor, said yesterday Gov. Spitzer‘s controversial plan to allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses has “legitimate problems.”

Weiner is the latest Democrat to question or oppose Spitzer’s proposal, joining former Mayor Ed Koch, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, and state Sen. Craig Johnson of Long Island.

Weiner said the governor’s plans won’t meet the standardized license requirements under the federal REAL ID Act.

“I am concerned . . . We don’t want New York’s driver’s license to become a second-class license because people are concerned about whether or not the people having them are citizens,” Weiner said. He added he supports granting illegal aliens driver’s licenses.

Weiner said the governor could have met the requirement of the federal law by creating a two-tier licensing system, in which one would be for driving purposes and could be granted to illegal aliens, and the other a more stringent license that meets the REAL ID requirements.

Spitzer aides have argued that no states currently meet the federal requirements that would go into place in 2013 and that New York officials would not know if Spitzer’s plan is out of compliance until the feds develop the regulations to enact the REAL ID law.

County clerks, many of whom run local DMV offices, have overwhelmingly opposed the plan, with 13 saying they would not follow Spitzer’s order.

A number of county legislatures have passed resolutions supporting their clerk’s decisions not to comply.

Spitzer said in Buffalo yesterday that the clerks must follow the order.

“The clerks who issue driver’s licenses are agents of the state,” he said. “They do not make state law on this. State government does.”

Senate Republicans, who plan to pass legislation later this month prohibiting the state from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, announced they will hold a public hearing on the issue in Albany on Monday.

kenneth.lovett@nypost.com