COLUMBIA - The U.S. Senate's rejection last week of a federal proposal aimed at curbing illegal immigration is boosting efforts to pass a comprehensive bill in South Carolina.

Until Monday, the state Chamber of Commerce had resisted the state's immigration reform proposals over concerns they would unduly strain businesses.

But with immigration reform likely stalled in Congress until after the 2008 election, the chamber signaled a readiness to move forward with state legislation.

"The South Carolina chamber hopes to bring together state legislators and business leaders to talk about a comprehensive bill that does not unfairly burden businesses with enforcement responsibility and does not penalize businesses that don't have foolproof mechanisms to verify citizenship," said Kristine Hartvigsen, the chamber's communications manager.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, called the chamber's announcement "substantial."

Mr. Viers, who proposed a number of immigration bills this session, said lawmakers have taken heat not only from the chamber, but from the farming and hospitality communities also.

"I've never seen industries fight so hard against such common-sense legislation," he said.

Lawmakers give several reasons for their failure to pass immigration reform at the state and federal levels this year.

In Congress, it's concerns over insufficient border security and so-called "amnesty" clauses.

In South Carolina, it's the possible impact on businesses and the realities of the legislative process.

The result is that the General Assembly's 2007 session closed out last week without passage of widespread changes to the state's immigration laws, just days after the U.S. Senate defeated a federal immigration proposal pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and other lawmakers.

"A lot of Americans are just fed up, and the federal government is not listening," Mr. Viers said.

Estimates put the total number of undocumented immigrants in the United States at about 12 million.

About 25,000 to 30,000 of those lived in South Carolina between 2002 and 2004, according to Pew Hispanic Center estimates.

Georgia, with an estimated unauthorized population of 200,000 to 250,000 during those years, passed a comprehensive immigration bill that took effect Sunday.

Mr. Viers convinced the House to pass three limited immigration bills this session, but they never came up for a vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. Jim Ritchie's Illegal Immigration Reform Act has passed the Senate.

Ms. Hartvigsen said one of the law's problems is the federal ID verification system is "full of holes. It's just not reliable."

Businesses want to comply with immigration laws, she said.

But they don't want enforcement to be solely on their shoulders, and they don't want to be slapped with severe penalties and fines if, despite an employer's efforts, someone with a fake ID gets hired, she said.

Mr. Ritchie's legislation never made it out of the House Judiciary Committee this year.

Committee chairman Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Columbia, said the bill got to the committee late in the session, when committee members were focused on other issues.

Next year, Mr. Harrison said, "We could probably have some comprehensive immigration bill passed within the first two or three weeks of the session."