NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A bill passed Wednesday will transform Tennessee from a haven for illegal immigrants seeking driver's licenses to the state with the strictest driver's license policy in the nation, state officials say.

The legislation, approved 96-2 in the House after it passed the Senate earlier this week, now goes to Gov. Phil Bredesen, whose administration developed the bill.

"The changes we're making today are necessary given the ongoing threat of terrorism that exists in this country," sponsor Rep. Phillip Pinion said before the 96-2 vote. "If we'd had this (across the country) the 19 hijackers would not have been able to get on the airplanes that caused the terrorist attacks of 9/11."

The bill would prohibit illegal immigrants and foreign visitors on temporary visas from getting standard driver's licenses. Instead, they could apply for "certificates of driving" that would be marked "NOT VALID FOR I.D." and would show only that the holder knew the rules of the road. The certificates, which would look significantly different than driver's licenses, could not be used as a way to confirm one's identity before boarding an airplane, buying a gun or renting a vehicle.

"Protecting Tennesseans is the governor's highest priority, and this bill gives Tennessee the strictest driver's license policy in the nation," Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said.

The bill's approval comes after more than three years of attempts to change a law altered in early 2001 to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses.

State officials believe non-citizens who could not get licenses in other states have been drawn to Tennessee. Federal officials raided a Nashville driving school last month and arrested 25 illegal immigrants who they believe were in the state solely to get driver's licenses.

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