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Jun 27, 2006 10:18 pm US/Mountain

Owens To Call Illegal Immigration Special Session
By Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press Writer
(AP) DENVER Gov. Bill Owens will call a special session of the Legislature to deal with illegal immigration, including a proposal by ballot initiative proponents for a compromise on the issue based on a law passed by the Georgia Legislature, Owens' spokesman Dan Hopkins told The Associated Press Tuesday.

"The agenda will include the compromise proposal by Defend Colorado Now as well as other significant immigration related issues," Hopkins said.

Hopkins said the governor will announce details of his agenda at a news conference on Wednesday.

The compromise was announced a day after the state Supreme Court said it wouldn't reconsider its decision blocking an immigration proposal from November's ballot and shortly after groups on opposite sides of the immigration debate said they reached a compromise. That solution, modeled on the Georgia law, cracks down on both employers who hire illegal workers and illegal immigrants trying to get public assistance.

The ballot proposal would have barred illegal immigrants from getting non-emergency state services; the state would still have to provide schooling and emergency medical care under federal law.

A date for the special session has not been determined, "but expect the Legislature to be called back relatively soon," Hopkins said.

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said the governor's decision is an indication lawmakers can come up with a solution to immigration problems that opposing sides can agree on, if the leaders of the two coalitions -- former Denver Mayor Federico Pena, leader of the initative opposition and former Gov. Dick Lamm, a member of Defend Colorado Now -- were able to come to terms. Both are Democrats.

"If Federico Pena and Dick Lamm can agree, then the governor and the Legislature can agree on this issue. I think we're better off finding common ground than throwing rocks at each other," Romanoff said.

Romanoff said both groups would prefer a statutory solution that the governor can sign now rather than putting a measure on the ballot that would have to wait until November.

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said he was not informed of the governor's decision. Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald was out of state on business and did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The deal is opposed by others within the ballot campaign, including former Republican Senate President John Andrews.

With Republicans on the offense on immigration, Lamm said Democrats may have felt pressure to do get tough on the issue but he said that it's still a good opportunity to pass some reforms.

"Let the cards fall where they may. I'm certainly not going to back away from progress if the Democrats have a battlefield conversion. We can really make some progress in this special session if the parties will work together on this," Lamm said.

Andrews said 40,000 people signed the petition to get the original proposal on November's ballot and they should be given a chance to vote on an immigration measure. He also said the compromise doesn't include all the details of the Georgia law. If it did, voters could be asked to vote on that but he said he doesn't trust the Democratic-led Legislture to do it.

"I'm afraid what they put up in a special session could have all trick phrases and trap doors in it or they could come back and weaken it next year," Andrews said.

Opponents of the original ballot proposal said it could have lead to lawsuits against any agency suspected of violating it and caused more problems, such as if illegal immigrant children were denied state-supported vaccinations. They also said it could cost too much to find out whether everyone getting a library card, for example, was here legally or not.

But the compromise only addresses public assistance programs like welfare and food stamps. Also, employers would be required to verify that an employee is in the country legally or else lose the right to deduct their salary on their taxes. People applying for public assistance would also have to prove their citizenship.

Fred Elbel, director of Defend Colorado Now, the group that backs the ballot proposal, said both his group and Pena's recognize that legislators can come up with comprehensive solutions that will discourage illegal immigration and make sure that taxpayer dollars are supporting legal residents. However, he said lawmakers could still also vote to send the ballot proposal to voters.

Keep Colorado Safe spokeswoman Edie Sonn said the ballot proposal was vague on which services would be denied to illegal immigrants but she said working off the Georgia proposal would allow lawmakers to discuss exactly which services should be included in the law.

"If there is more that should be done at the state level (on immigration), the legislature should figure it out and put it in statute," Sonn said. "This is not the kind of stuff that is appropriately decided at the ballot box."

Associated Press Writer Colleen Slevin also contributed to this report.