Colorado & Denver News

DENVER (AP) ― Majority Democrats began killing off Republican-backed immigration measures Friday and introduced a new plan to bar non-emergency state services to illegal immigrants 18 and older -- a plan they hope can become law by Aug. 1.

Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Golden, said the new proposal is based on a Georgia law intended to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers as well as illegal immigrants trying to get public assistance.

The bill passed its first hurdles Friday, winning tentative approval from the House after Democrats rejected attempts by Republicans to send it to the ballot.

If approved by lawmakers and signed by Republican Gov. Bill Owens, the bill would go into effect in about three weeks.

"We can implement this bill before people put away their summer sandals," Fitz-Gerald said.

Owens said he supports the concept, though he disagrees with a provision that makes it applicable only to services that require proof of citizenship under federal law. He said that allows too many exceptions.

Owens said he will leave it to lawmakers to decide whether to send an immigration reform plan to voters this fall or pass a new law.

"At this point, I'd like to see it on the ballot," Owens said.

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said the plan mirrors a compromise between supporters and opponents of Initiative 55, the proposed constitutional amendment that was barred from the November ballot by the Colorado Supreme Court in a decision that led to the special session.

Some business leaders criticized the proposal.

"Legislation aimed at employers is a misplacement of responsibility," business owner Mark Baisley told a Senate committee. "I'm concerned that new laws are being aimed at citizens rather than at those who broke the law in the first place."

Meanwhile, Democrats started killing off Republican proposals. The House State Veterans and Military Affairs killed eight bills and the Senate State Veterans and Military Affairs committee considered -- and quickly killed -- nine GOP-sponsored bills dealing with immigration issues. Five of the Senate bills either mirrored or closely followed Initiative 55.

The House bills included proposals to require voters to provide proof of citizenship, a comprehensive immigration reform plan and restricing public benefits.

The Senate committee voted along party lines, with Democrats in the majority, to kill a measure (Senate Bill 9) that would have required state and local law enforcement officials to train officers to identify and possibly detain illegal immigrants during routine work.

Debate over that measure prompted an expression of frustration from Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, who said illegal immigration is a federal problem more appropriately handled by Congress, not states.

"This is a magnificent case in point of why I think this session is a political charade: The federal government refuses to do its job," he said. "This bill is a clear example of what the federal government hasn't done. Passing it wouldn't do anything until the federal government does what it needs to get done."

Then, one after another, Republican proposals to deny state services to illegal immigrants fell by the wayside as Fitz-Gerald and Romanoff announced their bill. Fitz-Gerald said Democrats were simply weeding out bad public policy, but Republicans were angered.

"This is about providing the voters with the ability to speak on a very important subject which they have a very strong interest in," said Sen. Jim Dyer, R-Littleton.

Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, said "the work of this session ... needs to be first and foremost giving back to the people the voice that was taken away" under the Supreme Court's ruling.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)