HB88 (Public Assistance Amendments)

HB88 attempted to require verification of valid immigration status to access certain major state- or grant-funded healthcare and social services programs or grants. These programs are currently exempt from checking immigration status in alignment with federal law.

These services included food assistance (including for children), vaccinations, services for domestic violence victims, housing assistance, testing and treatment of communicable diseases, and more. Removing these exemptions risked losing federal funding for any of these programs. It would have put service providers in a tough position: either implement a burdensome system to check everyone’s immigration status or lose funding. There was staunch opposition to the bill, and after it stalled on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Lee substituted a handful of the provisions from the original bill into an unrelated bill, HB386, including a status check to access in-state tuition, home loans, state retirement plans, and some professional licenses. These provisions were adopted into HB386, causing that bill to fail as well.