Senate approves immigration enforcement bill

FRANKFORT — The state Senate approved an immigration bill Friday that would make it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to set foot in Kentucky, despite not knowing how much it would cost to implement the bill.

After a more than hour-long debate, the Senate voted 24 to 14, largely along party lines, to approve Senate Bill 6. Sen. Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, was the sole Democrat to vote for the bill.

Jones, however, said he had reservations about the cost and some unintended consequences of the bill.

The immigration bill was one eight bills that the Republican-controlled Senate passed Friday, the last day of the four-day organizational session. The legislature will resume on Feb. 1 and work through March 22.

Other bills the Senate passed on Friday include Senate Bill 3 — a measure that would allow for charter schools and allow parents to send children to the closest school — and Senate Bill 1 — a measure that would create a panel of tax experts to make recommendations to the state’s tax code.

It’s unclear how those bills will fare in the Democratic-controlled House.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the House will likely address House bills before it votes on Senate bills, which is typical. Stumbo said many of the Senate bills were rushed through the first four days of the organizational session without a thorough financial analysis.

“It is unwise to not take a look at the entire fiscal impact of that massive of a package of bills and to my knowledge that has not been done,â€