Arizona's GOP House speaker, Senate president clash on immigration measure

Some GOP lawmakers in Arizona hoped to put "one of the toughest immigration laws ever written" in front of voters this fall, keeping the focus on an issue Republicans think will drive turnout ahead of an election where control of the Legislature is up for grabs.

Even better for Republicans, the measure could become law without going to the desk of Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who's shown no intention of signing hardline GOP immigration measures. Hobbs has already this year vetoed the so-called "Arizona Border Invasion Act" passed with GOP votes.

There's just one problem: Not all Republicans are on board with the proposal from the House speaker.

The dispute over House Concurrent Resolution 2060 lays bare a rift between House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen.

The proposal would require federal proof of legal status by the E-Verify system before the state could offer any financial or business benefit. Unlike the Border Invasion Act bill, voters could approve Toma's resolution and make it a law, but only if it's on the ballot. And to be on the ballot, it first has to clear the Legislature.

The resolution already passed the state House in late February on Republican party lines. But Petersen hasn't allowed the bill to be heard in the Senate. He said it has unresolved issues that couldn't be fixed in time.

"I've heard concerns from the business community" about the resolution, he said. "The bill is not ready to go."

March 22 is the deadline for House bills to be heard in the Senate. The state constitution requires newly introduced bills or resolutions to be read on three separate days, except in emergencies. Toma's resolution hasn't had its "first read" yet. That means it can't be considered in its current form, much less voted on, in the Senate.

The situation has put Toma and Petersen at odds with each other.

"I've been prepared to amend the bill to address concerns related to employers," Toma said. "The president is unwilling to assign it."

Methods exist to circumvent standard procedures, and nothing's dead in the Legislature until the last day of the session. Petersen suggested that Toma could re-cast his resolution as a strike-all amendment in the House, whose Republican members could then approve it and send it to the Senate.

But Toma would lose out personally if that happened.

A strike-all amendment would have to be written over an existing bill by another member that never made it to the Senate. Toma has no stalled bills in the House upon which to overlay the amendment.

Toma's a candidate for Arizona's 8th Congressional District, and his campaign has used the E-Verify resolution to raise funds for his run. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed one of Toma's rivals, Abe Hamadeh, who narrowly lost his bid in 2022 for state attorney general.

Even if Toma sends a new bill to the Senate, Petersen said he's "not sure" its problems can be fixed before the current legislative session ends.

Allen Skillicorn, a Fountain Hills council member and conservative immigration activist, said Arizonans should be able to vote on Toma's plan.

"I would love to see the speaker and president get in the same room together, hash out the details and get this on the ballot," he said.

What would 'one of the toughest immigration laws ever written' actually do?

With elections only a few months away, the state's Republican lawmakers have made the border and illegal immigration a central issue. Toma's E-Verify proposal for the ballot is one of several legislative ideas Republicans have put forward this session.

The measure would require by January 2026, all government entities and licensing agencies in the state to check applicants for any "financial aid or benefit" with E-Verify, which checks a person's immigration status. Employers who are already required to use E-Verify would face penalties of up to $10,000 for "each employed unauthorized alien."

The proposed ballot measure lowers the threshold for when E-Verify must be used for labor contracts of $600 or more. In a nod to business interests, the proposal exempts employers from checking on people employed by subcontractors or independent contractors.

Why is the proposal stalled in the Arizona Senate?

After Toma's resolution passed the House, Petersen said Toma asked him to hold it so the business community's concerns could be reviewed by the Senate and the chamber could consider amendments.

"It probably needed a couple of weeks to work through this with stakeholders," Petersen said. "We didn't have an opportunity for everyone to sit down and discuss."

One potential hold-up: Toma was among 16 House members who traveled to Israel on a fact-finding mission from March 5-10.

Petersen said the clock has now run out for Toma's proposal.

The deadline for a committee hearing doesn't apply to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the proposal could still be placed for review. But Petersen said "it's improper" for the committee to hear non-appropriations legislation like Toma's E-Verify plan. He said he hasn't allowed such maneuvering since he was voted in as president following his reelection in 2022.

Toma disagreed with Petersen's timeline.

"I asked him to hold it more than a month ago and have since asked him to assign it," he said. "Respectfully, it's not too late."

Republicans consider putting the 'Border Invasion Act' on the ballot

With Toma's proposal stalled and Hobbs intent on vetoing the GOP immigration legislation again if Republicans make good on their promise to pass a mirror bill out of the House, Petersen said the Border Invasion Act bill could come back to life as a ballot measure.

The original Senate version was sponsored by Sen. Janae Shamp, a Surprise Republican who based it on Texas' SB4 bill. Among other things, it would make crossing the border anywhere other than an official port of entry a state crime and it would allow law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of crossing the border or being in the country illegally.

On March 20, the Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security Committee passed two nearly identical Border Invasion Act mirror bills with a 4-0 vote. The three Democrats on the committee walked out before the vote in protest.

“It appears to me that my Republican colleagues are using these bills to push divisive rhetoric that helps their political careers rather than pass meaningful legislation to truly address the issues at the southern border," Sen. Rosanna Gabaldón, D-Green Valley, said in a written statement.

If Hobbs vetoes the House's versions of the legislation, Petersen said the text of the Border Invasion Act could "absolutely" be repackaged as a resolution that wouldn't need Hobbs' approval to go on this year's ballot.

Bipartisan border deal: Rep. Ruben Gallego and AG Kris Mayes slam Congress for blocking bill

"That's a discussion we're having right now," Petersen said.

He acknowledged it will take work on the part of Republicans to make that happen. Turning the Border Invasion Act into a ballot measure would be a "big, multi-caucus decision" in both the House and Senate, he said.

Reach the reporter at  rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GOP House speaker, Senate president clash on AZ immigration measure