OVERVIEW:
The Proposed Committee Substitute for House Bill 29 would require State agencies, State agency licensing boards, and occupational licensing boards to verify the immigration status of applicants for public benefits and would prohibit them from providing any public benefit to an alien who is ineligible to receive any State or local public benefits under federal immigration law.
For this purpose, “public benefit” includes:
- Any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government.
- Any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit provided by an agency of State or local government. Except for certain emergency health care benefits and short-term, non-cash emergency disaster relief, persons not lawfully present in the United States cannot receive any of these benefits or licenses from a state or local government, unless the state has enacted a law after August 22, 1996, affirmatively making them eligible for such benefits.
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