Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday that he and his legislative allies are ready to consider changes to the state’s harsh imigration law, but will not alter the essence of the measure.

“The leadership of the Alabama House and Senate and I are working together to develop a bill for consideration at the beginning of the next legislative session. The bill’s purpose is to clarify and simplify the current immigration law,” the Republican governor said in a statement.

Bentley said he wants to see an enforceable law that “reflects the hospitable nature of Alabamians.”

HB 56, which criminalizes the presence of undocumented immigrants in Alabama, has provoked multiple lawsuits by the Justice Department and various organizations and is already having a negative impact on the state’s economy.