http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6116774

Immigration bills at the Arizona Legislature

The following immigration bills were considered Tuesday by the Arizona House's Government Committee:


_ HB2779, approved in a 6-4 vote by the committee, would prohibit businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Employers seeking a business license or a license renewal would be required to sign affidavits saying they don't knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Another proposal, if approved by the Legislature, would put similar provisions on the ballot for voters to decide in 2008. That proposal (HCR2051) was approved in a 5-4 vote by the committee.

_ HB2699, rejected in a 4-6 vote by the committee, would have required employers to verify the employment eligibility of workers hired after Dec. 31, 2008. The verification would be done through a federal database. The proposed requirement wouldn't apply to employers who are self-employed or those with fewer than 40 employees. The bill also included a provision that would have prevented prosecutors from charging the customers of immigrant smugglers as conspirators under Arizona's human trafficking law.

_ HB2751, approved in a 7-3 vote by the committee, would require all communities and their officials to comply with support of enforcement of federal immigration law. The bill would provide $25 million for carrying out these provisions. It also would establish a team that would make grants to communities for border security personnel, physical barriers and other immigration enforcement purposes. The team wouldn't make grants to any community that has a policy that discourages or prohibits officers from inquiring about a person's immigration status.

_ HCR2049, approved in a 6-4 vote by the committee, would require all communities and their officials to comply with support of enforcement of federal immigration law. If it is cleared by the Legislature, voters would get a crack at the measure in 2008.

_ HCM2005, approved in a 5-4 vote by the committee, would request that Congress pass legislation saying that the children of illegal immigration will be denied automatic citizenship.