Immigrant tuition repeal removed from bill

A proposed repeal of in-state tuition for undocumented students may have been removed from an omnibus immigration bill under consideration in the Senate, but the proposal remains alive as a stand-alone measure.

HB231 would repeal a 2002 law that allows undocumented immigrants pay the lower in-state tuition rate if they attend a Utah high school for three years and graduate.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the measure in a 39-35 vote, after it was amended to delay the effective date so that students who enroll by Sept. 30, 2010, would be able to take advantage of the waiver.

"It gives the federal government an additional two-and-a-half years to do something," said Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, the measure's sponsor. "Hopefully, the government will come to the rescue."

There are currently 280 students taking advantage of the waiver across the state, according to the Utah System of Higher Education.

Following the House vote, Lane Beattie, president of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, said, "We are very disappointed ... that the House would rather end the ability for growth and education."

The attempt at repealing the 2002 law has long been a contentious issue. This is the first time it has been approved by the House. Last year, it died in a tied vote with a co-sponsor absent.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where President John Valentine, R-Orem, said he believed it would pass, adding, "the thinking is that it's largely symbolic and it has a tendency to encourage people to come to Utah and to stay in Utah."

Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr. supports keeping the in-state tuition law, as does the the Alliance for Unity, a group of civic, business and religious leaders, including Elder M. Russell Ballard of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"The governor does not support this legislation," said Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for the governor Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "He is very concerned about the implications."

The Alliance released a statement on Tuesday expressing, "strong and unanimous opposition" to the repeal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declined comment on the legislation, said chuch spokesman Scott Trotter.

However, Valentine said those who take advantage of the program can't be legally employed once they graduate.

"The state pays for a big portion of the subsidy," he said. "We're paying for their education and then we don't get any return back ... because they can't be employed."

Beattie was among about 20 business leaders at a press conference announcing an Immigration Policy Coalition of business leaders advocating for a Senate proposal to create a task force to study the immigration issue during the interim. That bill, SB97, is up for a committee hearing today.