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| | College aid for illegal immigrants bill passed by House
Thursday, Feb 24, 2005 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - An emotional and teary-eyed Rep. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, buried her head in her hands Monday afternoon after the House approved a measure that would make the children of illegal immigrants in Arkansas eligible for state college scholarships. "I feel as if it just drained every ounce of energy out of me to get this done," Elliott said after the 63-31 vote. "This is a momentous day for Arkansas; I don't take the Senate for granted, but I knew that this was a big, big hurdle today," she said. "I have spent ... since 2003 really working on the bill itself, trying to get it right." Elliott, who is term limited, said the House vote is the highlight of her time in office. "It's just immensely rewarding," she said. "It is the best thing I could possibly do with a political career." House Bill 1525, which is endorsed by Gov. Mike Huckabee, now goes to the Senate. Elliott said the measure, similar to legislation already passed in Texas, New York and California, would allow the children of undocumented Arkansas residents to be eligible for state-sponsored scholarship opportunities. "House members showed courage by dismissing the shrill, misleading, often inaccurate criticisms of this bill," Huckabee said in a statement. "They voted to create true opportunity for all graduates of Arkansas schools. It's the kind of message that gives our state a very different image from the one in 1957 when we said 'no' to opportunity for children." The state already is required to offer elementary, junior high school and high school to the children of illegal immigrants, Elliott said. Also, those illegal immigrants work in the state and pay taxes. Elliott said about 600 Hispanic children graduate from state high schools each year, and about 300 are children of illegal immigrants. Of those 300, about 100 will probably will attend college and be eligible for in-state tuition. Elliott, who is black, also discussed growing up in Arkansas in the 1950s and '60s and how she realized at a young age that many of her dreams would not be reached because of the state's discriminatory laws against women and minorities. "I remember ever so clearly what it felt like to have the big boot of the government on my back, and I was a mere child," she said. "For these kids today, it is not a memory, it's a way of life. They are living with the boot of the government on their back, and it's not fair because they've done nothing wrong." Illegal immigration has been a contentious issue among lawmakers this session and some comments on the House floor Wednesday came in apparent anticipation of anti-immigration sentiment. "There is a reason we have a representative democracy," said Rep. Sam Ledbetter, D-Little Rock. "We are here because we get the opportunity to hear the thoughtful arguments on a bill that may otherwise be controversial and unpopular and realize the merits in doing this." "I've gotten to know every one of you and there's not a single person in this body who hasn't built up the political capital that you cast this vote, do the right thing, and it's not going to make any difference in your political career," Ledbetter said. Also speaking for the bill were Reps. David Matayo, R-Siloam Springs, and Shirley Borhauer, R-Bella Vista. "This is a bill that sends the right message, a message that we want our best and brightest to stay in Arkansas," Matayo said. "This is going to give us a chance to be up there with the good guys," Borhauer said. Nobody spoke against the bill before the vote. Also Wednesday, the House approved Senate Bill 235, which would move the state's presidential primary from May 18 to the first Tuesday in February. The vote was 92-0 and the measure goes back to the Senate for approval of a House amendment adding sponsors. The House originally approved the bill Monday, but that vote was rescinded Tuesday after Rep. Janet Johnson, D-Bryant, learned that an amendment to the bill, which was endorsed in a House committee, had not been considered by the House before the bill was passed. The House approved the amendment Tuesday. Also Wednesday, the House approved SB 118, which would close a loophole that could have cost the state all of its roughly $50 million-a-year share of a federal tobacco settlement. The bill was defeated last week after questions were raised. The House later rescinded that vote and referred it to the House Rules Committee. Attorney General Mike Beebe said during the committee meeting that defeating the bill had the potential of costing state taxpayers $50 million to $60 million a year. The major tobacco companies negotiated the tobacco settlement with states in 1998. Smaller companies that did not participate were ordered to pay a percentage of their share of the state's tobacco market into an escrow account. That was designed to equalize their cost of doing business with the major companies that settled. The problem is that major tobacco companies have threatened to stop their payments to the states because they believe smaller tobacco companies have been allowed to take unfair advantage of the settlement agreement. The smaller companies have taken advantage of what Beebe said is a loophole that sets their percentage payment no matter how much their market share grows in a particular state. The bill, according to Beebe, would require that escrow payments for the smaller companies be re-calculated every year, using the most recent sales figures. He said it would not affect small tobacco wholesalers. |
