California Dream Act Challengers Consider Next Step
LOS ANGELES (KNX 1070) — The effort to overturn a part of the California Dream Act is not going away even though opponents failed to get enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.
State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of Hesperia, who led the signature-gathering effort, told KNX 1070's Ed Mertz that they ran out of time, falling short on getting the 500,000 signatures required to put the referendum before voters.
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Donnelly cites several reasons to oppose the program, including Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget cuts and tax increases.
"Why should we tax ourselves even more and actually deny our own kids an opportunity to go to college and an opportunity to get enough in financial aid to create a benefit for those who came here illegally," he asks.
If the law remains on the books, undocumented students would become eligible for state-funded scholarships for college as early as next year.
"And that money will take away money that's available to citizens. It's nuts because the governor has stated he wants to raise taxes to pay for this," he added.
Meantime, Donnelly said he'll decide within two weeks if he'll lead another challenge to the Dream Act.
