BATON ROUGE - State senators will consider whether Louisiana drivers should be permitted to carry electronic licenses, after the proposal met little resistance from the full House.

Rep. Ted James, a Baton Rouge Democrat, said people could only use the licenses for driving and not for identification at private establishments, like bars. The House voted 88-8 Tuesday to move the bill to the Senate for a committee hearing.

The proposal would give drivers the option to use a smartphone app from the state Office of Motor Vehicles to download a copy of their licenses. James says a download wouldn't cost more than $5, and drivers could not just take smartphone pictures of their cards.

He says Louisiana would be the first state to adopt the technology.