Birth certificate initiative withdrawn from race for ‘08 state ballot
December 21st, 2007 · 4 Comments · posted by ataxin
A proposed initiative to issue different types of birth certificates to children in California based on their parents’ immigration status has been pulled from the stack of proposals vying to make the November 2008 ballot.

The proposal, which called for the state to issue one type of birth certificate to the children of U.S. citizens and green card holders and another to the children of temporary residents and illegal immigrants, was pending a fiscal impact analysis by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office and review by the state Attorney General’s office when proponents Ted Hilton and Tony Dolz withdrew it this week.

Hilton, of San Diego, said the initiative’s supporters will focus on raising the money needed for the project and attempt to put the proposal on the June 2010 ballot instead.

Supporters of the proposal, which would have cut benefits to children who did not qualify for the birth certificate offered to the children of citizens and permanent residents, hoped the initiative would drive the debate about birthright citizenship. Opponents said it struck at the definition of citizenship enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

As of a month ago, proponents had curried favor among anti-illegal immigration groups but had not yet hired a political consultant or petition gatherer to help collect the 434,000 signatures required to put the measure on the ballot. Political experts said such an operation costs $1.50 per signature and that initiative fundraising could prove especially thorny during a presidential election year, when candidates consume donors’ attention.

- Amy Taxin

Stumble it!
This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Politics and Government, Local measures, Legislation, Citizenship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Birth certificate initiative withdrawn from race for ‘08 state ballotâ€