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AHCCCS wants AG to rule on 200's effect

PHOENIX - The head of the state's health insurance program for the poor wants to know whether his agency has to comply with Proposition 200. And he wants that decision from Attorney General Terry Goddard, who publicly opposed passage of the legislation because he said the section at issue is too vague. Proposition 200 requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and could mean jail time for state workers who don't report illegal immigrants trying to obtain some government services. Goddard also is going to have to defend the new law in court within weeks. And that role concerns at least one backer of Proposition 200. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said that, if only for the sake of appearance, Goddard - and his whole office - should step aside and hire outside counsel. Goddard said he doesn't intend to do that. In a letter to Goddard, Anthony Rodgers, director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, said the initiative requires verification of the immigration status of anyone who seeks "state and local public benefits." Rodgers wants to know whether that includes his agency. The provision was placed in Title 46, the state's Welfare Code. AHCCCS is set up under Title 36, the Health Code. But some involved with crafting the measure insist AHCCCS is a welfare program. In fact, Kathy McKee, organizer of the Protect Arizona Now initiative, argued that part of the reason for the AHCCCS budget increase is the failure to weed out patients not here legally. AHCCCS spokesman Frank Lopez said Rodgers may need more than a "yes" or "no" answer. The agency's application already asks whether people are in this country legally. But Lopez said federal law bars AHCCCS from sharing that information with anyone. According to Proposition 200, however, those public employees who do not comply could go to jail for four months. But Lopez noted that receipt of federal funds - the majority of the AHCCCS budget - is contingent on compliance with federal law. Goddard will have to do more than interpret the law. Initiative foes are going to sue the state to have the initiative voided. Andrea Esquer, Goddard's press aide, said the attorney general can be fair. "There's a lot of law he doesn't personally agree with," she said. "But we will defend it to the best of our abilities."