(DURHAM) -- A North Carolina lawmaker says identification cards issued by the Mexican consulate should not be used as an acceptable form of ID. A House judiciary panel discussed the measure which would ban the use of matricular consular IDs to obtain a driver's license, purchase auto insurance or enroll in Medicaid.

Republican Rep. George Cleveland said the matricular consulate documentation is unreliable. "They don't verify the individual, who he's supposed to be.  There are people running around the state that have three or four of them in different names. It's a farce," said Cleveland.

Democratic Rep. Larry Hall said the bill is not needed. "We're just making it so that persons who are in this country legally who need that form of identification will be prevented from doing commerce and receiving services, especially utilities, etc. from some of our towns and cities," said Hall.

Durham City Council agreed in November to allow its police and other departments to treat the card like any other valid ID. The legislation would also prevent local governments from accepting the consulate documents.