The narrative of the bill’s passage by the Arizona Legislature included 12 stories by the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star.
The key dates in April 2010 for SB 1070 were the following: The bill that was passed by the Arizona Senate in February was approved by the Arizona House of Representatives on April 13 by a vote of 35-21. The bill was passed by the Arizona Senate on April 20. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23. Controversial language in the signed bill was changed on April 29. The legislative session ended on April 30.
Coverage of SB 1070 in the state Legislature began with House weighs migrant bill, published in the Arizona Republic, which discussed the passage of the bill by the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. The next step was a vote by the House. An article in the Arizona Daily Star on April 8, Immigration battle fought within state, showed the perspective of immigrant rights activists. It also put the bill in the national context by discussing the possibility of the U.S. Congress passing a comprehensive immigration overhaul. Another article in the Star on April 8, Border Boletín: Immigration reform hopes dwindling, focused on immigration reform. This article also provided links to news articles dealing with immigration reform.
An article in the Star on April 14, OK’d bill lets cops go after migrants, discussed the passage of the bill by the Arizona House with a vote of 35-21. An editorial in the Star on April 16, Racial profiling, SB 1070 will go hand in hand, came out in opposition to the law. The Republic published an article on April 19, Ariz. lawmakers pass toughest illegal immigration law in U.S., that detailed reactions to the bill from supporters and opponents. It also quoted Gov. Brewer, who had five days to sign or veto the bill or do nothing and let it become law. Also on April 19, the Star published Selected quotes from debate on SB 1070, which provided reactions from Arizona lawmakers. On April 20 the Republic ran Passage, protests for tough immigrant bill, which gave local and national reactions to the bill, which passed the state Senate with a vote of 17-11. The article also described the potential impact of the bill.
On April 23, the Star ran Gov. Brewer signs sweeping illegal immigration measure, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, about the bill being signed into law. The article included quotes from Gov. Brewer, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, and state Sen. Russell Pearce, who authored the bill. The Star ran Border Boletín: Final version of new state immigration law on its website, which included links to two versions of SB 1070 and other news articles about the law.
On April 28, the Republic ran a story, Referendum could delay Arizona immigration law to 2012, on a referendum drive that would put SB 1070 on hold until Arizonans could vote on it. The next day the Republic ran a story, Arizona immigration law: Changes sought by lawmakers, on changes to the bill that would remove the more inflammatory language, particularly “lawful contact” and “reasonable suspicion.”
Coverage of SB 1070 in the state Legislature ended with Arizona Legislature set to go home after wide-ranging session, which gave an overview of the legislative session.
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