(1) To the extent allowed by federal law and the Montana
constitution and notwithstanding any other state law, a state agency may not
provide a state service to an illegal alien and shall comply with the
requirements of this section.
(2) To determine whether an applicant for a state
service is an illegal alien, the agency may use the systematic alien
verification for entitlements program provided by the United States department
of homeland security or any other lawful method of making the determination.
(3) A state agency shall notify appropriate
personnel in immigration and customs enforcement under the United States department
of homeland security or its successor of any illegal alien applying for a state
service.
(4) An agency shall require a person seeking a
state service to provide proof of United States citizenship or legal alien
status.
(5) A state agency shall execute any written
agreement required by federal law to implement this section.
(6) As used in this section, the following
definitions apply:
(a) "Agency" means a department, board,
commission, committee, authority, or office of the legislative or executive
branches of state government, including a unit of the Montana university
system.
(b) "Illegal alien" means an individual
who is not a citizen of the United States and who has unlawfully entered or
remains unlawfully in the United States.
(c) "State service" means a payment of
money, the grant of a state license or permit, or the provision of another
valuable item or service under any of the following programs and provisions of
law:
(i) employment with a state agency;
(ii) qualification as a student in the university
system for the purposes of a public education, as provided in
20-25-502;
(iii) student financial assistance, as provided
in
Title 20, chapter
26;
(iv) issuance of a state license or permit to
practice a trade or profession, as provided in
Title 37;
(v) unemployment insurance benefits, as provided
in Title
39, chapter
51;
(vi) vocational rehabilitation, as provided in
Title 53, chapter 7;
(vii) services for victims of crime, as provided
in
Title 53, chapter
9;
(viii) services for the physically disabled, as
provided in
Title 53,
chapter 19, parts 3 and 4;
(ix) a grant, as provided in
Title 90.
