Also on Friday, the Senate State Affairs Committee agreed to hear testimony on a separate measure dealing with illegal immigration. Sen. Shirley McKague, R-Meridian, presented a revised copy of a resolution that accuses the federal government of shirking its constitutional duties in allowing illegal immigrants into the country.

The measure calls for the president and Congress to secure the nation's borders, end economic incentives to illegal immigration and implement a guest-worker program with enforcement standards.

McKague's resolution, modeled originally on a sample resolution from the conservative John Birch Society of which she has been a member, no longer calls for an end to birthright citizenship or a rejection of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

"This is kinder, and not as rude," McKague told the committee.

Last year, lawmakers passed several laws dealing with issues surrounding illegal immigration but stopped short of adding to punishments for employers who willfully hire illegal aliens.

Lawmakers passed one law aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from receiving most public assistance and another that makes English the state's official language. A Senate committee killed a third measure that would have required employers to pay for health care costs of illegal aliens when those workers get injured on the job.