Utah Legislature: Legislation requiring citizenship screening may be done for year

SALT LAKE CITY — A troubled proposal to require citizenship screening for applicants of city and county business licenses ran into another road block Monday at the Utah Legislature and may be done for the session.

HB227, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, would require those seeking municipal and county business licenses to provide identification proving their legal presence in the country and signing an affidavit to that effect.

Critics have lambasted the proposal for creating unnecessary new burdens on businesses — a cry that was picked up again Monday in a meeting of the Senate Education Committee.

Cristobal Marquez, a native Chilean who operates the Salt Lake Ballet Conservatory, said he's already saddled with numerous requirements to operate his business in the state as a legal immigrant and not sure if he was willing to deal with expanding regulations in Utah.

"This is making it so difficult for me to do everything right," Marquez said. "To invest my money … this whole state makes me feel very unwelcome, and it makes me want to close everything and move to a different state."

Lincoln Shurze of the Utah League of Cities and Towns spoke in opposition to the bill, noting concerns among members of his organization that business owners, rather than comply with the new rule, may just go underground and derail local governments' efforts to regulate health and safety issues.

While advocates of tighter immigration regulations who testified at the hearing argued that the addition of one document and providing identification was not an onerous new requirement for license applicants, committee members questioned the possible fallout from Sandstrom's proposal.

"I think the bill has many, many unintended consequences," said panel member Sen. Brent Goodfellow, R-West Valley City.

HB227 has been on a rocky road since its introduction early in the session. After squeaking out of a House committee earlier this month, the full House voted it down twice — first on its initial appearance on the floor and again in a motion to recall the bill a day later. Almost a week later it finally got a recall victory, then passed the body by a whisper, 38-36.

HB227 was tabled by the Senate Education Committee Monday, where it may or may not be recalled for further consideration.

The bill can be viewed at le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0227S01.htm.

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com