BENEFITS CUTS PLANNED FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS : STATE DRAWS UP LIST OF PROGRAMS.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

State officials outlined Tuesday more than 200 programs they plan to bar illegal aliens from getting - from prenatal care to college financial aid and commercial fishing licenses.

Agencies will draw up regulations to screen undocumented immigrants from all but a limited number of life-and-death programs in keeping with federal welfare reform legislation President Clinton signed last year, officials said.

It likely will take at least a year to enact the bans, which are in line with Gov. Pete Wilson's contention that benefits help draw illegal aliens into the state at the expense of citizens and legal residents.

``He does indeed believe services are a magnetic lure to illegal aliens,'' Sean Walsh, Wilson's deputy chief of staff, said at a news conference.

Illegal aliens will continue to be eligible for emergency medical care. Access to public schools is not affected by Tuesday's proposals or federal welfare reform, officials said.

The new federal law requires states to either enact exemptions or block illegal aliens from receiving most public benefits - a broad mandate that in some cases goes beyond the scope of Proposition 187, which has been tied up by court challenges since being passed in 1994.

Democrats - pleased that Wilson proposed some exemptions to the ban - were measured in their criticism of the governor's plan.

``Governor Wilson is headed in the right direction, but still has some distance to cover,'' Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante, D-Fresno, said in a statement. ``We'd certainly like to see continued coverage of prenatal care.''

California now provides prenatal care to about 70,000 illegal alien women. With other medical services to undocumented immigrants, the cost to taxpayers was $733 million in 1995-96, officials estimated.

``Every dollar we spend, that's one less dollar for families that are here legally,'' said Sandra Smoley, secretary of the state's Health and Welfare Agency.

Critics said prenatal care reduces the chance of newborns needing far more expensive services later.

``It's penny-wise and pound-foolish,'' said Lucy Quacinella, an attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Quacinella said the list is unnecessary.

``I think it's posturing to get people's attention off of California's real problems,'' she said. ``When politicians face tough choices, they like to engage in diversions.''

GUTTING SERVICES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS:

Gov. Pete Wilson plans to bar illegal immigrants from more than 200 state programs and services, but will ask the Legislature to continue benefits in nine limited areas.

Here are some of the public programs illegal aliens will be barred from:

Student financial aid

Substance abuse treatment

Unemployment insurance

Disability insurance

Mental health treatment in state hospitals or local facilities

Farm loans

Professional/vocational licenses

Parolee job placement

Artist in residence programs

Commercial driver's licenses 

Here is a list of programs that Wilson has proposed exempting from the ban:

Victim-Witness Assistance centers

Rape crisis centers 

Child protective services 

Child immunization and disability prevention

In-home services to the severely disabled (Will continue only for illegal aliens already receiving services)

Care to children with severe medical conditions (Will continue only for illegal aliens already receiving services)

Services to people with specific genetic disorders (Will continue only for illegal aliens already receiving services)

Long-term care to the aged and disabled

disabled (Will continue only for illegal aliens already receiving services)

Developmental center placement of patients who need 24-hour care, are dangerous or have been abandoned by their families (Will continue only for illegal aliens already receiving services).

Source: Governor's Office

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