Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office, deferred comment until the bill could be reviewed thoroughly. So did Judi Hilman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project.

"These kinds of bills often have a very harmful impact on access to health care," Hilman said. "I will be studying it closely."

And Adam Burgett of Crossroads Urban Center expressed concerns the bill may make it harder for nonprofits and other community groups "to meet people's basic necessities."

The bill requires federal eligibility verification for public benefits. Based on a preliminary review, it probably won't impact the Department of Workforce Services much because there are already such checks for those applying for food stamps and temporary assistance for needy families, said agency spokesman Curt Stewart.

The bill is one more piece of legislation that has immigrant rights activists cringing.

"It's very frustrating," said Tony Yapias, head of Proyecto Latino de Utah. "We feel helpless." The word "disgusting" came to Antonella Romero Packard, co-chair of the Utah Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force.

Not only could the bill lead to alienating people and racial profiling, "we're putting an onerous burden also on businesses."

On the other side, Ronald Mortensen, co-founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, was also still reviewing the bill, saying on first glance, "overall, it's a really, really solid bill."

However, Mortensen expressed concern that the Senate could toss aside all the measures and opt instead for a study being proposed as an alternative by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City.

"We're very concerned about the possibility the Senate will stall it and then study it," Mortensen said. "This issue has been studied to death. ... The public is not going to accept a study as doing something. We want concrete action now."

Hickman, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, which releases bills for debate, said he'll see how his bill pans out before sending out Jenkins' study proposal. Hickman, however, isn't in a rush for a debate. He's waiting on the "whole cluster" of House measures to make their way to the Senate.

"We want to come out here with the best consensus piece of legislation we can develop," Hickman said. "The Senate does not have all the brainpower. The House has a considerable amount of brainpower."

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said that when deciding on whether to pass the comprehensive measure, lawmakers will have to evaluate whether the provisions they agree with outweigh those they don't. When it comes down to a vote, he said, "It's just a straight yes or no."

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SB81 At A Glance