PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday signed into law a proposal that prohibits people from hiring illegal immigrants and requires all businesses to verify the employment eligibility of workers through a federal database.

The goal is to remove the economic incentive for immigrants to sneak across the border and help lessen Arizona's role as the busiest illegal gateway into the nation.

The Democratic governor said she signed the bill because the federal government has failed to overhaul the country's broken immigration policies, though she believes the new state law contains flaws that should be fixed before it takes effect on Jan. 1.