Sometimes Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez has to vouch for visitors who can’t get past City Hall security without an identification card. “I do it all the time,” she says, arguing that lack of an ID should not bar someone from attending a public hearing in City Council’s chambers.

Then there’s the bigger picture. Without identification, you can’t open a bank account, borrow a library book, check in at the emergency room, buy alcohol, tobacco, or even cold medicine that contains pseudoephedrine, to name a few things. For most residents, this isn’t a problem.

But Quiñones-Sánchez introduced a bill in City Council on Thursday that could help those for whom it is a problem.

If passed into law, the city could issue secure municipal photo ID cards to all Philadelphia residents upon proof of identity and residency. Cosponsored by Councilwoman Helen Gym and Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., the goal is to “increase residents’ access to City services, while providing cardholder benefits and discounts that leverage the best of the City’s partnerships with local businesses, financial institutions, and cultural centers.”

Quiñones-Sánchez’s office has been crafting the legislation for some time, but she says she wanted to wait until Mayor Jim Kenney settled into office before she introduced it. (As a councilman, Kenney was an early champion of municipal ID.)

“There is no question that something must be done to help bring Philadelphians out of the shadows,” Kenney said in a statement Thursday. “Our entire city benefits when all of our residents can legally own an apartment, open a bank account, and otherwise participate in our economy and society fully. I look forward to working with the Councilwoman and others to reach the most sensible and accessible option over the coming months.”

New York, Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have adopted similar identification programs, which advocates argue help immigrants better integrate into their cities.

Quiñones-Sánchez told AL DÍA Thursday that she and Kenney are talking about different names. “Yo Philly Card” was one possibility they passed around.

Whatever its called, the ID would display only the cardholder’s photo, name, date of birth, and address. It would not include the cardholder’s gender and immigration status. (Just ignore the stock photo above.)

“This legislation will help ensure that all our neighbors are treated equally as citizens of Philadelphia,” Councilwoman Gym said in a release.