Alabama lawmakers today raised doubts that a bill to create a fee that people would pay to make international cash transfers was an effective or fair way to deal with illegal immigration.

The bill is one of several that Republican lawmakers have introduced this year to respond to what they say are the costs and problems caused by people in the country illegally.

The idea of the bill is to capture some tax revenue from people who are working for cash and sending money back to their home countries.

The bill would apply the money from the fee, 4% of the amount transferred, to help cover burdens for law enforcement, education, and health care resulting from illegal immigration.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jennifer Fidler, R-Fairhope, said that includes the cost for public schools hiring teachers for children of immigrants who are learning the English language and uncompensated care provided by hospitals.

“It is maybe not perfect, but it is a way to help our communities,” Fidler told the House Financial Services Committee. “It’s a method that we can actually put in place to help. And some of our communities are desperate.”

The fees would apply to customers using services like Western Union and MoneyGram.

Money transfers using apps like PayPal and VenMo, debit or credit cards, or transactions involving banks would be exempt from the fees.

People who file state income taxes could receive a credit for the fees paid, up to $5,000.

The committee held a public hearing on the bill but took no vote.

The Alabama Sheriffs Association Executive Director Hoss Mack and association lobbyist Randy Hillman came out in support of the bill during the hearing.

They said the revenue would help law enforcement fight drug trafficking, money laundering, and the cash transfers help support it.

“Everybody knows that the current administration has stepped up a great deal to address this illegal immigration issue,” Mack said.

“However, it’s still a local issue. Local law enforcement works every day to assist our federal partners in doing that.”

Kathy Tomasofsky, executive director of the Money Services Business Association, spoke against the bill, saying it would carry unintended consequences.

Tomasofsky said money service businesses are already under federal regulations to identify and report money laundering and illegal activity.

She said businesses that offer cash money transfers – from big-box stores to grocery chains to neighborhood stores – would face increased costs to implement the fees.

She said come customers would go to stores in neighboring states to avoid the fees and reduce the foot traffic and business in Alabama stores.

Patrick McWhorter, a lobbyist representing the Alabama Grocers Association and Wal-Mart, said the fees would be a burden on people who do not have bank accounts and rely on cash transfers to help family members, including military personnel stationed overseas.

McWhorter said he understood the concerns of sheriffs.

“While we want to get at that problem, let’s not create another problem and hardship for men and women in the military service,” McWhorter said.

The committee took no vote on the legislation after the public hearing.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City, said he would wait and see if Fidler can build more support for her bill before deciding whether to put the bill up for a vote.

Rep. Marcus Paramore, R-Troy, said he was concerned about the impact of the fees on migrant workers on Alabama farms.

He said those workers might go elsewhere and leave farmers without people to do those jobs.

Paramore said he and his family have used cash transfers to send money to relatives working as missionaries.

“I know my grandmother used to send money constantly to Africa to her daughter and to my sister on the mission field,” Paramore said.

“And she would go to the local grocery store. And she would get a Western Union wire and she would send that money to them.”

Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, said he understood the need for funding to address some of the burdens caused by illegal immigration.

Ensler suggested that lawmakers find money in the state budgets to help with that instead of creating a new tax.

Blackshear, the committee chairman, suggested that people should have a chance to vote on a lottery and gambling legislation to help provide revenue for sheriffs and other services.

Blackshear was a sponsor of the gambling bill that fell just short of passing last year.

“Things like that net new revenue, ways we’ve got to fund our sheriffs and fund other things in this state,” Blackshear said.

“And it’s not taxing a service or a fee.”

Blackshear questioned whether the bill was fair to immigrants working legally in the country who use cash transfers.

He acknowledged that the state has problems caused by illegal immigration.

“But at the same time, I feel like every individual Haitian, or every individual Hispanic that we walk by on the streets in the state of Alabama, they’re not here illegally,” Blackshear said.

“A lot of them are here paying taxes. Some aren’t. Some are here doing what they should be and have been here many years providing for their family. They’re working. They’re doing a lot of jobs that we don’t want to do.”

Fidler’s bill is one of several Republican lawmakers proposed on illegal immigration after a group of them went to the southern border last year. Fidler was not one of those but helped develop the legislation.

Other states have considered similar bills, including Oklahoma, which passed the law.

Fidler noted that her bill would create a panel to study the impact of the bill, including how much money it raised.

The bill carries an expiration date of July 2029 unless lawmakers vote to extend it.

“So we can look at this,“ Fidler said. ”Tweak it if necessary. And repeal it if it’s not necessary.”