Arizona 'Birther Bill' Given Second Life By GOP Lawmaker

Judy Burges, a Republican state representative in Arizona, is breathing new life into a failed legislative attempt to force President Barack Obama to display his long-form birth certificate in order to get a place on the state ballot in 2012.

The so-called birther bill, which last year passed a vote in the Arizona House before being shelved by the state Senate, already has support from 30 cosponsors in both chambers this time around, Fox News reports.

According to the New York Daily News, the bill is meant to allay persistent theories that Obama was not, in fact, born in Hawaii, as a copy of his Certification of Live Birth states:

Burges' HB 2544 would address each of these concerns by requiring any and all candidates to provide "an original long-form birth certificate that includes the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and the attending physician and signatures of the witnesses in attendance."

Any candidate wishing to appear on the ballot in Arizona would also be required by the bill to provide "a sworn statement attesting that the candidate has not held dual or multiple citizenship and that the candidate's allegiance is solely to the United States of America."

A number of other state lawmakers have reaffirmed a commitment to pass similar bills through their respective legislatures following widespread Republican wins across the country.

Texas state Rep. Leo Berman (R) has been one of the most vocal about his proposal, stating last year that his "bill is necessary because we have a president whom the American people don't know whether he was born in Kenya or some other place."