http://link.toolbot.com/statesman.com/60797

Republican leaders concerned about immigration bills

By Juan Castillo | Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 06:20 PM

Two key Republicans signaled concerns Tuesday about a flurry of immigration bills filed in the Texas Legislature and how far the state can go in getting tough on illegal immigrants.

A spokeswoman for Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, said he will ask the attorney general to review several bills referred to the state affairs committee, which Swinford chairs.

“We don’t want to pass anything out of our committee that is considered unconstitutional,” said Allison Scott, Swinford’s chief of staff and chief committee clerk on the State Affairs Committee.

Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said earlier Tuesday: “There’s a lot of question about…what the state can do and what the federal (government) can do.”