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Rep. Chris Herrod released a bill Friday that would require the state to request or sue the federal government for reimbursements to hospitals that provided medical care to immigrants who are in Utah illegally.
The Provo Republican has said he is carrying HB165 — the medical reimbursement bill — because he believes the current system is bringing an undue cost to the state by providing medical services to the undocumented population.
"We mandate doctors have to work on these individuals," Herrod said. "We're taking [physicians'] time and their money and it's only fair to get that money back because the federal government isn't doing anything about it."
But Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said the Herrod approach only focuses on the perceived drain undocumented immigrants have on the state without taking into account the taxes they pay to help fund those services.
"If my tax dollars go toward covering those services, then so be it," Yapias said. "Is his dollar worth more than my dollar? I would say he's just trying to take hostage a situation he has no control over."
Herrod also had a fiscal note of about $1 million attached to his separate bill that would require the Attorney General's Office to establish a means to take tips and investigate employers who hire undocumented workers.
His bill would require any business with five or more employees to register with E-Verify — a change from the current law that requires a business with 15 or more employees register for the program. It also would establish penalties for companies that hire undocumented workers — including the loss of a business license on a second offense and a requirement to come into compliance on a first offense with the possibility of losing a business license for 10 days.
To investigate the hiring of undocumented workers, the estimates showed the Attorney General's Office would have to add funding of $1.13 million in 2012 and about $900,000 in 2013 to operate under the provisions of HB253.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said there is no way his office could absorb that cost.
"This is purely a fiscal choice," he said. "If they want our office to do this, they'll have to fund it. But right now, they've already voted to cut us by 7 percent already. We're fighting just to keep that."
Herrod takes issue with the fiscal note.
"There would be a tremendous amount of savings by enforcing the law," the lawmaker said. "They factor in the actual cost, but they don't take into account any actual savings."