The National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) has issued a press release applauding the Senate for passing the Gang of Eight amnesty bill, with a few minor concerns like, “how states will pay for the health care and education needs of this population of 11 million.”
Oh yeah, that. Nobody seems to have bothered to look at how much the Gang of Eight bill will cost state and local governments. Judging by NCSL’s statement, the answer is “Plenty.”
Demonstrating that they can be just as adept at buck-passing and cost-shifting as their colleagues in Washington, NCSL’s solution to the cost problem is to have the bankrupt federal government send cash.
“Over the coming months, as this bill moves its way through Congress, we look forward to working with our federal partners to ensure that the interests of states are addressed in the final legislation.”
In case the folks in state government haven’t noticed, whether the cost of amnesty is covered by the federal government or state and local governments, it’s still coming out of the pockets of the same taxpayers.