Worries about voter fraud, terrorism and illegal immigration are driving a surge in stiff new identification requirements. To weed out those who aren’t citizens, all Americans increasingly need a paper trail to qualify for some of the perks of citizenship — from driver’s licenses to Medicaid help.

Massachusetts has accomplished the improbable: It got Democrats and Republicans to agree on how to provide nearly every resident with health insurance. And it did so without boosting taxes or pushing aside private health plans. Other states – from Vermont to California — are also trying to close the uninsured gap.

Statehouses awash in surpluses ventured into new projects in 2006, from first-in-the-nation preschool for all 3-year-olds in Illinois to a space pad in New Mexico plus advances on such issues as health care, immigration, the minimum wage and global warming that stymied Congress.