Immigration, education, health care and energy are just four of the issues discussed among the more than 700 legislators from across the country who gathered in Phoenix Nov. 28-30 for the National Conference of State Legislatures Fall Forum.
Forum host Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-13, said the conference is an opportunity for legislators to share ideas with their colleagues about the right way to deal with one major issue: immigration.
“I believe Arizona has taken the wrong direction in dealing with the immigration issue,” Gallardo added, citing the employer sanction law as an example.
“(The conference) is a way for us to show other states how not to do it,” Gallardo said. “There is a way we can deal with some of our immigration issues that is not unconstitutional.”
Legislators also discussed how Arizona has dealt with national issues and toured Chicanos Por La Causa at the Carl Hayden Community Center, Metro Tech High School and Herrera School for the Fine Arts.
“We’re a state that continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but we still have the infrastructure issues; we still have all the issues that a growing city, a growing state is facing,” Gallardo said.