Colorado signs bill to deny non emergency services to non citizens.

The Colorado Legislature on Monday approved a bill that would deny most nonemergency government benefits -- including Medicaid and Medicare -- to state residents ages 18 and older who fail to prove that they are in the country legally.

The compromise legislation, part of a package of immigration measures passed by the state Legislature during a special session, was approved 22-13 by the state Senate and 48-15 by the state House. The benefits bill (HB 1023) would require state residents to present valid Colorado, military or tribal identification to receive public benefits. The bill -- which also applies to unemployment insurance, energy assistance programs, and aging and adult services -- would create an exemption to the health benefits denial for beneficiaries with communicable diseases and would set a maximum 18-month jail term for individuals convicted of falsifying documents.

In addition, it would permit illegal immigrants to continue to receive benefits mandated by the federal government or the U.S. Supreme Court. Gov. Bill Owens (R) called the special session of the state Legislature after the Colorado Supreme Court last month ruled that a ballot initiative on whether illegal immigrants should be denied some government benefits was unconstitutional because the measure considered more than one subject. Owens said the benefits bill "simply puts teeth into existing federal regulations." He estimated that about 50,000 illegal immigrants could lose benefits under the bill. Owens said, "My guess is, many other states are going to do what we've done here".

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