2 bills aim to bar services to illegal entrants

By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

PHOENIX — A Senate panel approved two measures designed to make it harder for those here illegally to get public services.

One bill, SB 1072, requires state workers to verify the immigration status of applicants to get services under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. The bill is designed to buttress existing rules barring most types of state-paid care for those not in the country legally.

The other, SCR 1012, specifies what documents government workers could accept to show eligibility for public services. That measure is specifically aimed at barring state and local agencies from recognizing the ID card issued to Mexican nationals by local consulate offices.

Both proposals were approved on 4-3 party-line votes by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services. And both drew questions about whether the actual effects of either becoming law were far broader.

Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, sponsor of SB 1072, said he believes more needs to be done to ensure those in this country illegally are not getting state-paid services.

"Arizonans should come first," he said. "That's what we are paying taxes for."