Sponsor: UT immigration bill not same as Arizona's

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Utah lawmaker writing an immigration bill modeled after Arizona's tough new law said Tuesday his bill won't include some of the provisions that a federal judge blocked last week.

Rep. Stephen Sandstrom told The Associated Press that his bill won't make it illegal to solicit employment in public places. That was a major component of the Arizona law aimed at day laborers that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked.

Sandstrom, R-Orem, also said his bill would clarify that the only person police could question about immigration status during traffic stops would be the person who committed the infraction -- not other vehicle occupants.

"I think it still has the same goals -- to let people know in Utah we enforce the law -- but we're not going to do so in a punitive way," he said.

The Arizona law didn't specify who could be questioned when police were enforcing other laws. That part of the law has also been put on hold.

Sandstrom said his bill will leave out what he considers to be some of the most onerous portions of the Arizona law. That includes a provision left intact that requires the impoundment of vehicles when the driver is furthering the illegal presence of an illegal immigrant.

"Really, as I looked it over, I almost want to stop calling it the Arizona-style bill. I want to start calling it the Utah immigration enforcement bill," he said.

The text of Sandstrom's bill has been a closely guarded secret, but Sandstrom said he's close to finalizing it. He plans to meet with the legislative attorneys the next few days to see if any more changes need to be made to his bill in light of Bolton's ruling.

Other parts of the Arizona law Bolton blocked include requiring authorities to verify the status of all arrested people before their release from jail and requiring immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers.

Sandstrom said he wants to make his bill public in the next few weeks and would ideally have it aired during a committee hearing on Aug. 18, but he said it may have to wait until September.

Sandstrom has scheduled a meeting with Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to discuss his bill next week. Herbert has said he will sign an immigration bill into law if he's still governor when the Legislature convenes in January, but he has not said how closely he would like any bill to mirror Arizona's law.

Some conservative Utah lawmakers have said they don't see any reason to let Bolton's ruling affect immigration proposals here.