LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigrants in the country illegally would be able to get professional licenses in California under a bill moving forward in the statehouse.

A measure by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, would ease the licensing process for more than two dozen occupations, including real estate agents, security guards, and health care professionals like psychologists and pharmacists, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The bill passed the state Senate on Thursday.

SB 1159 would allow about 40 state boards to accept a federal taxpayer identification number as proof of identification in lieu of a Social Security number.

Lara, whose parents were at one time in the country illegally, said his proposal is simply an extension of other measures enacted in recent years that provide such immigrants with driver’s licenses, lower college tuition and access to public financial aid and private funds held by the state universities.

His measure would ensure that “more Californians have an effective means of economic mobility and self-sufficiency,” Lara told the Times.

Lara’s bill passed with support from seven Republicans. Five GOP members abstained.

Peter DeMarco, a spokesman for the Republican caucus, told the newspaper there was concern in the GOP that tax authorities would “not always be able to correctly identify licensees to ensure proper collection of taxes.”

The proposal has divided Republican lawmakers in California and sparked opposition from national conservative groups that want tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws, according to the Times.

“By granting licenses to illegal immigrants you both aid and abet illegal immigration, which is a violation of federal law, and you are sending a message to the rest of planet Earth that says, ‘Come on!’” said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee.

The state’s workforce includes 1.85 million people in the country illegally, according to an estimate by the Public Policy Institute of California.

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