DENVER -- Gov. Bill Owens has called a special session of the Legislature next week to consider barring non-emergency state services from illegal immigrants.

The session will begin July 6. Owens said he hopes to resolve the issue quickly, estimating the session will take about a week. A special session will cost taxpayers $14,000 a day.

"I think it's a very valid function of public policy for society to decide do we provide public services to citizens, or do we chose to provide public services to anybody who's here. And I don't think it's inhumane to have that discussion as much as some would characterize that discussion as in fact being hateful," Owens said.

Lawmakers will talk about a compromise proposal by Defend Colorado Now and Keep Colorado Safe, groups who have opposing views on the issue. The two sides have agreed to support a law that would crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants and on illegal immigrants who try to get public assistance -- a law that was passed in Georgia Legislature recently. The Georgia law also requires police to check the immigration status of people they arrest.

Owens also wants lawmakers to discuss cutting tax benefits to companies who hire illegal immigrants, employer verification, requiring proof of citizenship to vote, strengthening human trafficking laws, and sending Initiative 55 to a statewide vote.

The compromise was announced a day after the state Supreme Court said it wouldn't reconsider its decision blocking an immigration proposal from November's ballot and shortly after groups on opposite sides of the immigration debate said they reached a compromise.

The ballot proposal would have barred illegal immigrants from getting non-emergency state services; the state would still have to provide schooling and emergency medical care under federal law.

Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, and others say the judges effectively kept the public from deciding an important issue based on a technicality (the court said the ballot question addressed two subjects instead of the single subject required by state law).

"Colorado citizens were denied their constitutional right to vote, and it is the duty of the governor and the General Assembly to restore this right," the Republicans told Owens.

The governor agreed, saying he found their decision puzzling and unfair to voters.

"I do want to be humane. I do want to be fair. I want to be just. But in a small 'd' democracy the people have a right to have these discussions and make these decisions," Owens, said.

In addition to discussing issues involving state services for illegal immigrants, Owens hopes legislators in the special session will decide on a way to limit how much time the Supreme Court can take to review ballot initiatives. He also wants to raise the age of consent for common law marriage.

Reaction To Special Session

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said the governor's decision is an indication lawmakers can come up with a solution to immigration problems that opposing sides can agree on, if the leaders of the two coalitions -- former Denver Mayor Federico Pena, leader of the initative opposition, and former Gov. Dick Lamm, a member of Defend Colorado Now -- were able to come to terms. Both are Democrats.

"If Federico Pena and Dick Lamm can agree, then the governor and the Legislature can agree on this issue. I think we're better off finding common ground than throwing rocks at each other," Romanoff said.

Romanoff said both groups would prefer a statutory solution that the governor can sign now rather than putting a measure on the ballot that would have to wait until November.

Others oppose the deal within the ballot campaign, including former Republican Senate President John Andrews and former o-chair of Defend Colorado Now.

"There is zero evidence that should lead Coloradans to expect a tough statute on immigration reform to emerge from the Democrat-led state House and Senate," Andrews said.

Andrews said 40,000 people signed the petition to get the original proposal on November's ballot and they should be given a chance to vote on an immigration measure. He also said the compromise doesn't include all the details of the Georgia law. If it did, voters could be asked to vote on that but he said he doesn't trust the Democratic-led Legislture to do it.

"I'm afraid what they put up in a special session could have all trick phrases and trap doors in it or they could come back and weaken it next year," Andrews said. "We still need Initiative No. 55. The Supreme Court death blow to the Defend Colorado Now petition left that organization defunct -- politically irrelevant and financially broke. Its former steering committee, three Democrats and myself as the lone Republican, must now go our separate ways in seeking a solution to the illegal alien invasion. The best solution in my opinion is a constitutional amendment referred by the legislature for decision by the voters in November."

But opponents, including Keep Colorado Safe, which includes Pena, said the proposal could lead to lawsuits and cause more problems, such as if illegal immigrant children were denied state-supported vaccinations.

Employers would be required to verify that an employee is in the country legally or else lose the right to deduct their salary on their taxes. People applying for public assistance would also have to prove their citizenship.

Fred Elbel, director of Defend Colorado Now, the group that backs the ballot proposal, said both his group and Pena's recognize that legislators can come up with comprehensive solutions that will discourage illegal immigration and make sure that taxpayer dollars are supporting legal residents. However, he said lawmakers could still also vote to send the ballot proposal to voters.

Keep Colorado Safe spokeswoman Edie Sonn said the ballot proposal was vague on which services would be denied to illegal immigrants but she said working off the Georgia proposal would allow lawmakers to discuss exactly which services should be included in the law.

"If there is more that should be done at the state level (on immigration), the legislature should figure it out and put it in statute," Sonn said. "This is not the kind of stuff that is appropriately decided at the ballot box."