NORTH COUNTY -- As the November elections approach, illegal immigration has once again become the focus of a statewide debate that echoes a similar battle fought a decade ago.

A referendum and an Assembly bill were unveiled recently by conservative Republicans, including a local assemblyman, that would deny a wide range of public benefits to those living illegally in the state.

Supporters say the efforts were spurred by an effort from state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, to grant illegal immigrants state driver's licenses. Cedillo and other Latinos say the Republican efforts are remnants of Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot initiative that denied illegal immigrants all public benefits.

"They are taking their plays from a 10-year-old playbook that was written by their former quarterback, (then-Gov.) Pete Wilson," said Edward Headington, a spokesman for Cedillo.

Prop. 187 was declared unconstitutional, in part because it denied people federally mandated benefits. The new referendum narrows its efforts to state-funded benefits, such as driver's licenses and lower, in-state college tuition fees.

A 1996 federal welfare reform law barred most benefits for many immigrants, including some legal immigrants, but gave states the option of restoring them if they picked up the tab. California lawmakers restored some benefits.

"The Legislature can't be trusted," said Michael Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, a Monrovia-based conservative group sponsoring the referendum on illegal immigrants.

The new referendum calls for an amendment to the state constitution that would ban the Legislature from granting illegal immigrants driver's licenses, grants, contracts, retirement, welfare, public housing, food assistance or any other benefit not mandated by the federal government.

Supporters are attempting to qualify the initiative for the March 2006 ballot.

In heavily Republican San Diego and Riverside counties, anti-illegal immigrant initiatives have received much public support. Local lawmakers have said their offices are inundated with letters and messages from constituents urging them to address the matter.

Assemblyman Mark Wyland, R-Escondido, responded earlier this month by introducing Assembly Constitutional Amendment 32, a bill similar to the initiative. But in a Democratically controlled Legislature, Wyland said the bill is unlikely to go far.

"I am hopeful that it will be heard yet this legislative session," Wyland said. "But given the track record here, it is unlikely that it will be heard, but then I will reintroduce it again in the new year."

Wyland's bill also includes a provision banning illegal immigrants from voting, which is in response to an effort in San Francisco to allow them to vote in school board elections.

"If the liberal-dominated Legislature refuses to heed the will of the people and act on my legislation, we will continue on with our initiative so that the people can be heard," Wyland said.

Spence and other supporters say they were cheated out of a victory a decade ago when voters approved Prop. 187 by a nearly two-thirds margin. They say the measure lingered in the courts while then-state Attorney General Dan Lungren dragged his feet.

Ultimately, Gov. Gray Davis was elected and his administration declined to appeal the court's decision.

This time, the initiative includes a clause mandating that if any part of the measure is challenged in state or federal court, the state is legally bound to defend it until "all appeals have been exhausted and a final judgment enacted."

But things have changed in the last 10 years for California voters.

The Latino electorate has grown from about 1.5 million in 1992 to 2.5 million in 2003, according to the William C. Velasquez Institute, a national nonprofit Latino research group. Some analysts link Prop. 187 to a surge in Latino voter registration. Most registered as Democrats.

In an attempt to avoid a backlash and make inroads in the Latino community, the California Republican Party leadership has shied away from endorsing a number of "Son of 187" measures, including one that failed to gather enough signatures earlier this year to be included on the November ballot.

"The so-called neo 187 did not have the support of the Republican party," said Armando Navarro, a political science professor at UC Riverside and a Latino rights activist. He added that this year's measure is unlikely to garner much support from the GOP establishment, either.

"It's an election year and they are pandering to the Hispanic electorate," he said. "It's all politics."

Andy Ramirez, a conservative activist with a group that attempted to qualify last year's anti-illegal immigrant measure, said the issue of illegal immigration has also created some internal fractures within the Republican party.

Ramirez, who is director of the conservative anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, said his group received little support from other Republican organizations, including the California Republican Assembly, to qualify its initiative. Save Our State has not yet decided whether it will support the new initiative, he said.

"We had a statement of support (from the California Republican Assembly)," Ramirez said of his group's failed campaign. "But we didn't get one penny."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-5426 or esifuntes@nctimes.com.