'Birther' bill passed by Arizona Senate

Legislation that requires presidential candidates to prove they are natural-born American citizens before their names can appear on the Arizona ballot was approved by the state Senate on Wednesday.

The bill, H.B. 2177, requires presidential candidates to submit a certified copy of their birth certificate that includes their date and place of birth, the names of their mother and father, and the name of the hospital they were born at.

The Arizona Senate passed the bill in a party-line vote of 20 to 9, with Republicans backing the bill. It now heads to the state's House of Representatives for approval.

The bill was sponsored by State Rep. Carl Seel, who recently met with billionaire real estate mogul and potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to discuss the legislation.

Trump first revealed he had some doubts that Obama was a U.S. citizen during an interview with ABC News' Ashleigh Banfield in March.

Later appearing on Fox News, he claimed that the president has not provided his birth certificate and suggested that Obama has "spent millions" trying to avoid the question.

Many of the so-called "birthers," such as American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes, believe there is persuasive evidence that Obama was born in Kenya in 1961 and that his birth certificate was faked in order to make him eligible for the Presidency.

A lawsuit by Keyes that claimed Obama is not eligible to occupy the White House because he is not a natural born citizen was thrown out by the Third District Court of Appeals in October. Last year, a district court judge dismissed a similar lawsuit filed by Orly Taitz, who was fined $20,000 for "wasting judicial resources" with her "frivolous" lawsuits.

The president was born in the Hawaii and released a certificate of live birth to prove it in June 2008.