Immigration cost study could be funded

Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, wants to know exactly what illegal immigration is costing the state of Utah and took a step closer to that data with passage of his HB107 by the House on Wednesday.

Clark, who sat on a legislative immigration task force that spent last summer exploring immigration issues in meetings held throughout the state, said that the committee heard a lot of emotional testimony, but no one could answer the question of what fiscal impact illegal immigration has on the state as a whole.

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, who was also on the committee, had a different take on the group's findings.

"As I remember it, we had ream after ream of data on the cost of illegal immigration," Noel said. "Is there something we missed that we need to get more data on?"

Clark said the only information received was localized and pointed out that studies conducted by other states have found widely varying results — Texas reports a $487 million annual deficit attributable to illegal immigrants, while Arizona realizes a $260 million infusion each year to its general fund.

Early incarnations of Clark's study proposal came with a one-year delay of SB81, last year's immigration reform legislation set to take affect on July 1, and an attached $150,000 price tag. Clark dropped the delay in a first substitute, and the second substitute, the version that passed Wednesday, removed the fiscal note and called for the office of the legislative auditor to conduct the study.

The House body found favor with the altered proposal and passed it out on a 56-13 vote. HB107 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com