After nearly two hours of heated testimony during a packed meeting, the House Higher Education Committee held off voting on a bill that would bar illegal immigrants from attending all Georgia public colleges.

Chairman Carl Rogers said Tuesday's meeting was designed to serve only as a hearing on House Bill 59, although that wasn't clear at the start. Rogers said he plans to meet with college leaders and others to look at adding flexibility to the bill. The earliest the committee could vote would be in two weeks, he said.

"I don't think we're ready, and I don't think the bill is ready," Rogers, R-Gainesville, said after the meeting. "It's a very hard issue. It's a very emotional issue."

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