March 26 was the deadline for the Oklahoma legislature to pass Senate and House bills off the floors and send to the other chamber to be considered.
We broke down the immigration bills moving forward and what is no longer on the table.
What’s left on the table
House Bill 4422
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, authored House Bill 4422, which calls for the use of Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to determine an applicant’s eligibility and legal status for federal assistance such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the SAVE program to verify immigration status and U.S. citizenship of applicants seeking benefits and licenses. According to USCIS, the agency administering the program determines eligibility for services — not the SAVE program.
SNAP offers food benefits to low-income families and TANF offers support to children dealing with a parent’s death, incapacity, absence or unemployment.
The bill passed the House floor with an 80-18 vote.
During the floor debate, Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, asked Hilbert to clarify who the bill is supposed to target.
“I don’t think this is to target anyone,” Hilbert said. “This is to protect taxpayer dollars and make sure that welfare is going to American citizens.”
House Bill 4423
Hilbert also authored House Bill 4423, which would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to use the SAVE program to verify the immigration status of all applicants for state health care benefits before approving them. The authority would have to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if an applicant’s status cannot be verified as lawful.
The bill passed the floor with an 80-18 vote.
During the floor discussion, Hilbert said this bill is about “standing up” for American citizens.
Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, called on House members to vote no on the bill. McCane is concerned about the potential impact this could have on children, who could face consequences for their parents’ choices.
“I understand if we want to take a more rigorous approach to verifying citizenship, that would be fine. That’s not what we’re doing,” McCane said. “We are trying to send a message. We are sending a message that we are falling in line with anything that comes out of this (Trump) administration.”
Senate Bill 1633
Senate Bill 1633, authored by Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, calls to remove language from Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education policies that allowed students who graduated from Oklahoma high schools and resided in the state with their legal guardian to be eligible for in-state tuition, even if they couldn’t provide documentation of U.S. citizenship or immigration status.
The bill passed the Senate floor with a 39-7 vote.
The goal for the bill is to reconcile and codify a practice already in place, Stanley said. The bill will allow them to align with state and federal law, after Attorney General Gentner Drummond told the federal government last fall that it would end the practice.
“We are not taking away the opportunity for education,” Stanley said. “It just does not give (non-legal residents) in-state tuition.”
No longer advancing
There were three bills that failed to pass the House or Senate floors by March 26 and were effectively killed.
Senate Bill 1582
Brian Guthrie, R-Bixby, authored Senate Bill 1782, which would have restricted buying land in Oklahoma to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
House Bill 3551
Cody Maynard, R-Durant, authored House Bill 3551, which would have removed the process for students in the country illegally to apply for in-state tuition.
Senate Bill 1470
Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City, authored Senate Bill 1470, which would have allowed elected officials and religious leaders to have access to private prison facilities to conduct informal inspections.
What’s next
Bills sent to the other chamber are known as “engrossed” bills, according to the University of Oklahoma. They can be amended by the other chamber and then head to a conference committee with members of both chambers.
After that process, it heads to both floors for a vote. Once passed, it heads to the governor for signature and then is considered law.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
