CHRIS KAHN/Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX (AP) _ Gov. Janet Napolitano said Friday she wants the state to create a ``3-in-1'' ID card that would serve as a driver's license, a border-crossing document and a proof of citizenship.

The license, which would be voluntary for Arizona residents and cost slightly more than a traditional driver's license, mirrors ID cards being developed in Washington and Vermont. It's meant to eventually comply with a federal ID reform program known as Real ID.

``My hope is that this project will lead to an effective permanent program that can be implemented nationwide,'' Napolitano said in a statement.

The proposal requires legislative approval.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he supports the proposal and would work to enhance it. He said fewer documents should be acceptable as forms of ID on drivers license applications. Pearce also wants more training for Department of Motor Vehicle clerks so they can better recognize fake documents.

``Unfortunately, there's a fraudulent document industry out there that's producing some real good looking documents,'' Pearce said.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said it was not known how much the new cards would cost state residents, except that it would be more than a driver's license. The added cost would pay for the program, she said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff applauded Napolitano's proposal.

``I think the public wants more secure documentation,'' said Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. ``They recognize the current state of drivers licenses are a vulnerability. Whatever that dollar amount is, it would pale in comparison to a future (terrorist) attack on a national scale.''

The Real ID system was adopted by Congress in 2005. It requires states to create a system of driver's licenses and ID cards that allows the information to be shared between states and federal agencies.

Knocke said final details of the Real ID program will be unveiled soon.

The program will include security features that makes ID cards harder to forge as well as a tougher system of background checks for people working at state motor vehicle departments.

Civil liberties groups have criticized Real ID as creating a trove of personal information vulnerable to identity thefts and invasions of privacy by federal agencies.

``What looks like a local card is really a national card with the data going to all the national databases and available for them to use,'' said Dan Pochoda, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.

AAA spokeswoman Linda Gorman wondered if Arizona's new card would need to be renewed more often than traditional drivers licenses, which are good until the driver turns 65. She also wanted to know if they'd replace international licenses that allow Americans to drive far into the interior of Mexico.

``That needs explaining so people don't get confused,'' Gorman said.

States have until 2013 to develop and implement a Real ID-compliant license system, Knocke said.

``A state could choose not to comply with Real ID, but that's dangerous choice,'' Knocke said, adding that people in that state ``won't be able to travel. They won't be able to get into federal buildings.''

Arizona's ``3-in-1'' card also would satisfy those requirements as well as Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative rules. WHTI requires U.S. and Canadian citizens to present at the border a government-issued photo ID like a driver's license, or another WHTI compliant identification document. It also requires border-crossers to have a proof of citizenship like a birth certificate.

On the Net:

www.azgovernor.gov