"To accomplish our mission we must protect Oklahoma's business community from state laws and regulations which make them less competitive than those in other states and around the world," Richard P. Rush, chair of the chamber, said in a statement.

Hickman said that during the drafting phase the bill was vetted and the Legislature's legal counsel has advised him it is sound.

"Anybody can file a lawsuit," he said. "As to the viability, only time will tell ... If we believe this is the right thing to do, we should proceed."

Legal concerns led Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, to abandon a bill he was exploring to make it an unfair trade practice to hire undocumented immigrants, because it would be preempted by federal statute.

Civil rights attorney Brian Barnard questioned the need for at least some of the bill's provisions, such as preventing undocumented immigrants from getting liquor licenses. He added the implementation could be problematic.

"On it's face, the proposed legislation doesn't have civil rights violations," he said. "Those civil rights violations are going to come more when it's applied and is applied in a discriminatory way."

After a precursory review, immigration attorney Roger Tsai questioned whether a provision that gives legal workers a right to sue if they're displaced by a company that employs illegal immigrants could lead to discrimination.

"A lot of employers may look at this and start to terminate noncitizens," he said. And Tsai wondered whether a provision against transporting undocumented immigrants could go so far as to have bus drivers asking for proof of legal status.

Hickman doubted his bill would be interpreted so broadly.

"This is not for casual transportation," he said. "This is transporting people for the purpose of employment ... it isn't to go to the grocery store or church."

Hickman said even if there are short-term negative economic impacts from his bill, in the long term it should be a positive. He pointed to a Washington County framing company that can't compete with businesses that hire illegal workers at low wages.

"In the long run, it would be a very positive economic impact," he said. "People will be able to start competing on a level playing field."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com