Tucson, Arizona  Saturday, 10 March 2001

http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/10310caplinkbriefs.html


PHOENIX - Restaurant patrons would be free to take their handguns with them, whether concealed or open, even if the establishment serves liquor, under a bill approved yesterday by the House Committee on Retirement and Government Operations.

The legislation, HB 2218, is being pushed by Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa. He said current law that bars weapons in places where liquor is served forces gun owners who want to get a bite to eat to leave their weapons in their vehicles.

Pearce said he will amend the bill further when it reaches the full House to specify that anyone carrying a weapon cannot consume alcoholic beverages.

A provision of the measure would make it illegal for those under 21 to have alcohol in their bodies, a move designed to curb those who drink in Mexico, then return to the United States.


Border county aid

Border counties could get some financial help for the additional costs of law enforcement and health care in dealing with illegal immigration.

SB 1372 is designed to help recoup the approximately $23 million counties spend annually. The original bill would have provided $8 million over each of the next two years. The version approved yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee offers only $750,000 over two years to Pima County, with $350,000 each to Cochise, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties.

The bill needs approval of the full Senate.


Driver's license law


The Senate Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to rescind a 5-year-old law that denies Arizona driver licenses to those not here legally.

SB 1531 would remove the statutory requirement that applicants must show either proof of citizenship or that they are in this country legally to get a license. Instead they could produce alternate forms of identification which, under the bill, could simply be an affidavit.

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